Samsung: E-smart Strategy

Business Challenges: When Samsung decided to set up a separate company for

its IT/telecom products last year, it had the problem of managing a huge

business with a handful of people. Thousands of dealers based all over the

country had to be monitored by a 24-member team.

IT approach: Being a technology company, Samsung was in a better position to

set up an online business for itself. Fortunately, its six main distributors are

all large IT companies such as Ingram Micro, Redington and Tech Pacific, which

are already web-enabled. These distributors, which are in turn linked to several

dealers, are also responsible for providing dealer information and updating the

database regularly. This e-enabled environment has helped Samsung set up an

online B2B model. The internal ERP has been extended to the supply chain and all

transactions are online, says national sales manager Vivek Prakash.

Benefits: Without an online operation, it would have been impossible for 24

people to manage transactions with such a huge dealer network. Moreover, the

company estimates a huge turnover of Rs 1105 crore this year, up from Rs 740

crore recorded last year. A number of routine inquiries and transactions which

do not need management decisions, can be tackled without any physical

interaction. This not only allows efficient resource allocation with low

manpower, but also cuts down inventory costs.