7 SES Technologies: Unbeatable Three-Digit Growth

CEO: PK Krishnaprasad START-UP YEAR: 1992 NO OF PARTNERS: 2,000 BRANCHES: 16 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: Motherboards, CPUs, keyboards, CD-ROM drives, monitors, scanners, networking and Internet products AGENCY OPERATIONS: Intel, Acer, Accton and Molex ADDRESS: 194, Arvind Chambers, Western Express Highway, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400 069 TEL: 022-8230088/0099/7660 FAX: 022-8235306 WEB SITE: www.sesindia.com     POINTERS TO PERFORMANCE Consolidated Acer and Accton sales Launched its own brand - Javelin POINTERS TO FUTURE To concentrate on manufacturing at Pondicherry  To stress on becoming a total component company

SES Technologies has the distinction of being the only company in the Silver Club that has registered a three-digit growth of 148 percent in 2000-01, making it the company with the highest growth rate. A new entrant to the Silver Club, it is ranked seventh for its revenue of Rs 238

crore. 

But PK Krishnaprasad, CEO accepts this distinction with equanimity. He says that the stupendous growth has come about because the company paid a lot of attention to the consolidation of its products. 

Till 1999, the company distributed only Intel products. But last SES decided to expand its vendor base to Acer, Accton and Molex. While last year saw the company consolidate Acer and Accton brands, the current fiscal will see a similar effort for Molex.

"Our success is proof that we were right in sticking to these few brands instead of getting our fingers into too many pies," says

Krishnaprasad. 

Besides, stress on building up the infrastructure played a major role in helping the company grow. From seven offices, the company has expanded its network to 16 branches. This will be further increased to 20 by the end of this fiscal. 

It has also increased its customer base from 400 to almost 1,500 in 2001-02. Even the channel breadth has increased from 400 partners to 2,000.

The company which was earlier recognized for its Intel business, is now increasing its focus on non-Intel brands. "Till the beginning of 2000, Intel contributed almost 80 percent to our business. Today though our Intel sales have increased, its contribution has fallen down to 50 percent, because we are also pushing other brands," explains Krishnaprasad. He has held on to its policy of not having conflicting brands under one roof. The same goes for entry-level products.

SES clocked a revenue of Rs 238 crore in 2000-01, up from Rs 96 crore the previous fiscal. In 1999-00 too, the company had grown by 71 percent, which shows the consistent pace at which it has been establishing its presence in the channel business.

In the last fiscal, SES Technologies also launched its own brand -- Javelin. This year the company will work on strengthening this brand by bringing out more products under the banner. This should ensure that the brand would pitch in with at least 15 percent of the total revenue.

Today SES Technologies has created a niche image for itself, as that of a total component company. This is why it has consciously stayed away from branded PCs. "Except for RAM and cabinets, we supply every imaginable component to our channel," says

Krishnaprasad.

Last quarter, the company started its own service company called Ultima Solutions and Services Ltd. This arm will look after the servicing issues for the company while also signing up contracts for authorized servicing with leading vendors in the country. "Acer has already signed us on as its authorized services provider and talks are underway with other major companies," says

Krishnaprasad.

SES Technologies also started white box manufacturing at its ISO 9002 certified Pondicherry facility and this fiscal it will start paying more attention to this venture. Soon servers and notebooks will also be rolled out, along with the PCs.