Building Business Brick By Brick

His knack of adding a personal touch to every deal has helped Chennai-based P Ramanathan go places in the local market. His hard work, dedication and customer service has also brought credibility to Surya Peripherals. 

Surya Peripherals is one among the early birds in Chennai's IT trading business. And it sure has got its worm! The company recorded a turnover of Rs 16 crore in 2000-2001, a growth which can be credited to its proprietor's philosophy. A firm believer in services rather than box pushing, Ramanathan has managed to build a long list of loyal clients. 

"Today we can confidently state that we give the best solutions to our customers. We go to any lengths to ensure that they are satisfied," says Ramanathan. According to him, volume sales might give immediate result, but it leaves many disillusioned customers in its wake. 

This is why Surya has decided to concentrate on a handful of vendors to give better service. "Today we deal with the entire range of products from HP, APC and Krykard stabilizers," says

Ramanathan. 

This limited product range had helped him to concentrate on a particular segment and explore newer business opportunities in this space. "With multiple products and brands it is very easy to lose one's focus and we did not want to do that," he adds.

A new beginning

Ramanathan first brush with IT was when he and his friend started distributing Krykard stabilizers at Trichi in 1985. This was where he learnt the tricks of the trade and became acquainted with several vendors in the market. And this was also where he could put his industrial production engineering degree from the Anna Malai University to good use, strategizing several internal and external operations. 

But soon Ramanathan realized that the key to success lay in expansion, especially in the Chennai market. But his friend wished to stay put in Trichi. So in 1991, the duo decided to part ways. Ramanathan came to Chennai and launched Surya Peripherals with an investment of Rs 8 Lakh and three employees. 

looking back, Ramanathan remembers how he and his wife virtually built the company brick by brick. Luckily for him, Mrs Ramanathan's masters degree in computer science and her experience with Tata Consultancy Services helpedÂ

Surya Peripherals to grow fast in the market.

First reseller meet

Surya signed its first partnership with L&T to distribute its printers. Later Ramanathan satarted selling HP's products too. He holds the distinction of rolling out the first resellers' meet in Chennai with HP's assistance. The one-day meet, which was attended by nearly 150 resellers, was aimed at educating partners on the future trends in HP's e-enabling transactions.

"We trained resellers on HP products to help them communicate with end-users effectively," says

Ramanathan. 

This event also saw the announcement of volume-based special prices for different models of scanners, laser and color inkjet printers, which were very successful.

Right now, the Ramanathan couple is busy building their customer base, besides working on plans to branch out to several other cities shortly. After all it was the urge to move from Trichi to Chennai that led to the inception of Surya and its subsequent milestones. This has only strengthened their belief that other markets too will accept Surya products.

Sunila Paul in Chennai