Wipro''s channel business has been led from the front by its chairman and
DQ''s IT Man Of The Year 1999, Azim Premji. If Wipro is perceived today as a
channel-friendly company, it is largely due to the vision and philosophy of
Premji who takes time off to attend channel events. It is because he has his ear
to the ground that Wipro has been able to match the expectations of its channel
partners and help them grow in revenues and profitability. In an exclusive
interview with CI on its anniversary, Premji outlines Wipro''s
action plan on channels.
It is your vision that has enabled Wipro to be accepted as a channelfriendly
organization. Could you please share this vision with us?
Wipro understood very early into the IT business, in the mid 80''s, that the
market was segmented in terms of the corporate buyer and the first-time user (FTU).
The needs of customers in these segments were different. The FTU segment, we
knew, could only be addressed by a channel, which is in close proximity to the
customer.
We were very clear from the start that the customer, irrespective of whether
he was being addressed directly or through the channel, should get the same
"Wipro look and feel." So we selected channel partners who shared our
vision. Many of them were first-generation entrepreneurs who have since grown
with us.
Wipro was the first to start a support service with franchisees. Our
franchisees complemented and increased the value proposition our Channel
gave to the customer.
What is your channel philosophy?We consider our channel partners to be an
extension of Wipro. They reflect
Wipro''s values. We are genuinely interested in ensuring the profitability of
our channel partners. We constantly strive to increase the product and
service offering from Wipro so that they grow both in terms of revenue and
profits. Each marketing executive in Wipro, assigned to channel management,
typically handles three or four channel partners, against the industry standard
of 10+. Major strategic decisions concerning the channel and its customers are
taken after consulting our key partners. Whenever required, we provide inputs in
HR practices, debt management and other best practices to our partners as they
form a part of Wipro''s close knit fraternity.
Channel partners have been telling us that you take time off to attend
major channel events of Wipro. Why do you find it important to attend
channel events?
Our channel forms a very strategic conduit to meeting the IT infrastructure
needs of the small and medium (SME) segment. We have around 200 key partners
across 104 locations in the country. I make it a point to meet them in different
cities, and annual channel events give us an excellent opportunity to interact
with our partners as one group with the same interests of furthering channel
sales. We consider it very important to receive feedback on Wipro as a
principal. It is our belief that top management interaction with the channel is
critical in formulating channel strategies.In the Internet Age, when vendors
are trying to go direct, how should
channels position themselves to do better business?
In the whole distribution chain unless there is a value add by the channel,
revenue and profits will be under strain. The value-add needs to be defined by
the customer. If Wipro and its Partners deliver genuine value-add to the
customer in terms of services such as systems integration and application
solutions, the customer will seek us out, and vendors who go directly to the
customer will not be a threat. We believe there will be a continuing role of the
channel in the Internet age.In what ways is Wipro integrating its business
model with the Internet to do business through channels?Wipro is e-enabling
all its channel transactions. We have already
launched a web-based ordering system (WBOS) through an extranet with the
partners. Marketing communication and order processing are being
done on the Web.
What are some of the major initiatives that Wipro is planning for
channels in the short and the long term?At Wipro Corporation we have seen
significant benefit from the Six Sigma
Quality initiative we started three years ago. We plan to extend our
learnings from Six Sigma, on ways to reduce defects and cycle time, to our
channel partners as well. We will take up projects within the channel
organization so that they can reap the benefits of Six Sigma Quality.
We hope to further hone the skills of our channel through training. Wipro''s
expertise in areas such as systems integration, application development and
domain knowledge will be shared with the channel, and we plan to develop their
skills in network, platform and security integration.
Our plan to increase our presence in out locations will require significant
involvement with our channel partners in terms of strengthening the range of
products and services offered to customers.As we continue to be the largest
partners for technology companies like SUN and Cisco, our partners will derive
the benefit of ourcollaborations to focus on technology offerings and go up the
value chain.