A Charted Accountant by profession, Mr. Pawan Saraf is with RP tech India family for the past twenty years. An entrepreneur, born Leader, fitness freak, he is happy to go lucky person. He commands high respect within and outside the IT community.

Mr. Pawan Saraf, Branch Head, RP tech India, Pune, RO

What has been the overall impact of the festive season on the IT and electronics market so far? How this season is driving the IT business in the State of Maharashtra?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  E-Commerce majorly impacted the brick and mortar business this festive season, especially, in the consumer electronics and mobile segment. The online emerged as the true king during this period which showered unbelievable deals in order to lure end-users in order to win the online festive sale battle. This year we saw end users spending money on leisure rather than buying IT products. So there was no major impact on IT products market during this festive season, but the mobile business witnessed an exponential growth during this period.

Except for smartphones, what are the other product categories which witnessed surged in demand during the festive period?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  The other product categories which saw a surge apart from the Smartphones were the Sound systems and LED TVs. However, none of the IT products saw a major demand.

How the tier 3 and tier 4 cities are driving the growth of IT business in Maharashtra? Which cities/towns/regions are rapidly emerging as the IT hubs in the state after Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  As the metros and tier 1 markets are saturated, the upcountry market is the next growth prospects for vendors and various marketplaces. As a result E-Commerce giants such as Amazon are pouring huge fund in building their logistics in tier 3 and tier 4 cities. Talking about Maharashtra, Nasik, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nanded are the next cities of growth.

What are the key growth drivers of the IT business in the State? Also, what are the major challenges the industry is coping up currently?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  Industries such as Manufacturing, IT/ITES, Education and Agriculture are the major growth factors for IT business in Maharashtra. However, currently, none of the segments is showing growth. The Government is the major catalyst in driving the growth of the industry and we hope the State Machinery will implement pro-industry majors to boost the growth.

Where does RP tech India stand in the competition? What are your strong points in the State?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  RP tech India has an advantage of being agile over the competition. Our main strengths are our wide coverage across the State and robust distribution and logistics ecosystem supported by the dedicated sales force and thousands of loyal channel partners.

Do you think that regional distribution model is posing a treat to NDs? How do you explain the benefits of the ND model?

Mr. Pawan Saraf:  In my opinion, the regional distribution model is not posing a major threat to the traditional National Distributors who have pan India presence. NDs have relatively more organized and robust distribution ecosystem, which reaches to the last mile of end users. RDs have certain geographical restrictions and hence, the ND model is always preferred on the top of the RD model.

What value proposition RP tech India provides to vendors and partners?

Mr. Pawan Saraf: I think our Response time, Business Agility, Pan India presence and Relationship management gives us an edge over the competition and makes us the most preferred distributor in India.

What is your roadmap for the next financial year?

Mr. Pawan Saraf: We will continue to strengthen our channel base by adding a new set of partners specialized in various verticals. We will also focus on the niche product segment to generate a better bottom line. Our aim is to grow at 40 per cent CAGR in the FY 2019.

About RP tech India

Leading IT & Mobile brands have put their trust in RP tech India (a division of Rashi Peripherals), to penetrate into the vast Indian market for 29 years. Being one of the top 5 IT distributors in India, the company has partnered with over 9000+ dealers, retailers, and customers in over than 750 towns & cities. To cater to this vast customer base, RP tech India has branch & service operations in over 50 towns of India. The company has created a strong IT infrastructure and unique marketing platforms that have helped to put their partners on a pedestal. At 25% CAGR for the last 15 years, RP tech India is one of the fastest growing companies in India. Their vendor names include ADATA, AMD, APC, Apple, Asus, ECS, Fitbit, Google, HP, Intel, Logitech, Lenovo, Micron, Nvidia, Plantronics, SanDisk, Toshiba, Western Digital, TP-Link and many other world-renowned brands. To know more, please visit www.rptechindia.com