Distribution Bullish - Asia

With countries like India and China opening their wings to the outside world - more and more companies from US to Europe are now targeting Asian shores in their bid to achieve big numbers.

The way the electronics distribution business has changed in the past 60 years is often referred to as an evolution. From radio parts to ships to the sophisticated supply chain management of today, the business has changed in response to the environment and now distribution has become an integral part of the way business is done on a global scale.

At a time when margins are going down and distributors are innovating their business models according to the market dynamics, the theory of natural selection makes sense in these situation and the distributor companies that didn't evolve with time aren't around any longer.

It's the margins and the number game, which is attracting foreign companies to the Indian sub-continent. "We sincerely believe that India can be a good place to market our products, the market is so huge over here that we just can't ignore it. And an event like this has given us a good opportunity to make inroads into the Indian market as far as distribution is concerned," informs, Jong-Hwa Kim, Assistant Manager at Korea based Panwest. The company focuses on USB drive, PC camera, Optic mouse etc.

Current changes in distribution are more cataclysmic, representing the emergence of a whole new species of company. Today analysts are asking questions to determine just how the top-tier distributors are going to mutate the business to make it yield better financial returns.

For Canada based Redline Communications, it's a different ball game altogether. The company is all set to venture into the Indian market but is quite particular when developing partnerships. "We operate in a specific domain of connectivity solution for broadband. We need to be very careful while picking on a distributor, so we are taking all the precautions for this," says, Keith Doucet, VP Marketing, Redline Communications.

The outsourcing phenomenon has also been a factor towards this need to have an international distribution network. The relationship between OEMs, contract manufacturers and all the suppliers and distributors in the supply chain has changed and continues to change. Supply chain management has become a key competitive competency and the way an OEM configures its channel is unique and customized.

"Though we had a presence in India to some extent through our partners, now we are fully committed to create business opportunities in this region with a distribution network. This whole idea of distribution is quite basic to us when it comes to our core business principles," informs, Doug Vilim, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Sangoma Technologies. This Canadian Company has just signed one distributor for the Indian region.

Canada seems to be going real strong when it comes to companies eyeing India to distribute their products and services. "The whole idea of distribution is to have an extension of your company virtually working for you. So that way you can extend the reach of your products and expand markets in the developing regions of the globe. Canada is eyeing India for that and a lot more networking & communications focussed companies are set to make their foray to Indian shores," adds on David Dawson, MD at International Business Development Associates, a Mumbai based company involved into connecting Indian and Canadian companies in terms of trade.