 "New area of opportunity that I smell is area of digitisation: Alok Bharadwaj")
Imaging major Canon India's consumer business has dipped by almost 12 per cent this year while the B2B business has grown at a faster rate with better profitability. The company is keen on a new opportunity in the document digitisation business and is expected to seal a contract from a pharma company soon says Alok Bharadwaj, Vice-president at Canon India, to Digbijay Mishra. Edited Excerpts:
How is the consumer business doing in the economic gloom?
Consumer sentiment continues to be poor as the economy is in a dire state. But I have to say our B2B area has grown rapidly even amidst such tough conditions. Pockets of opportunity are a lot more in B2B and I mean for services, not products.
So would you focus on B2B going forward?
We launched management services a few years ago. Here the proposition is we won't sell the printer alone but the services to maintain it. So, the customer is not buying a printer, but rather paying to use it. It is already a Rs 100-crore division for us. Our total B2B is 48 per cent of the company's turnover but if you see the Rs 100-crore business, it is growing at 25 per cent.
You talked about document digitisation a lot, why are you so keen on it?
The new area of opportunity that I smell is in digitisation. Large organisations are still facing a big problem with still huge numbers of hard copies that enter into the organisation through vendor bills, challans and the various reports. This movement of hard copy information in any enterprise is a sure-shot opportunity for digitisation in the workflow. That's a space we are keenly and closely tracking because an organised player like us can do a better job of managing it.
What are you planning next for this business?
We have set up a small group recently under the Canon Business Services vertical. Pharma, BFSI (banking financial services and insurance) are the key focus. Of our management services business of Rs 100 crore, one-third comes from BFSI, one-third from healthcare or pharma. So, the requirement in pharma and BFSI is huge.
Have you won any contract in these spheres?
We have got a trial contract which we completed recently. We are going to get a contract soon from a pharma company.
What about your cinematography camera business?
This is another huge growth area for us. These are specialised cameras used by Bollywood directors. So far, they use the models priced above Rs 1 crore, but in terms of creating a great effect or stunt, this is biggest problem. If a car has to crash to create an effect the camera is gone, so u need a little cheaper model and that's why we have come up with cheaper cameras ranging from Rs 6 lakh to 15 lakh.
In compact cameras, companies are focusing on wi-i connectivity. Why is it important?
What we are noticing that wi-fi is becoming more important for high-end cameras. Connectivity between smart devices and the camera is becoming a strong criteria. Whereas in entry-level cameras, the direction is to include low light abilities, HD video and high optical zoom.
How is the consumer business doing in the economic gloom?
Consumer sentiment continues to be poor as the economy is in a dire state. But I have to say our B2B area has grown rapidly even amidst such tough conditions. Pockets of opportunity are a lot more in B2B and I mean for services, not products.
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We launched management services a few years ago. Here the proposition is we won't sell the printer alone but the services to maintain it. So, the customer is not buying a printer, but rather paying to use it. It is already a Rs 100-crore division for us. Our total B2B is 48 per cent of the company's turnover but if you see the Rs 100-crore business, it is growing at 25 per cent.
You talked about document digitisation a lot, why are you so keen on it?
The new area of opportunity that I smell is in digitisation. Large organisations are still facing a big problem with still huge numbers of hard copies that enter into the organisation through vendor bills, challans and the various reports. This movement of hard copy information in any enterprise is a sure-shot opportunity for digitisation in the workflow. That's a space we are keenly and closely tracking because an organised player like us can do a better job of managing it.
What are you planning next for this business?
We have set up a small group recently under the Canon Business Services vertical. Pharma, BFSI (banking financial services and insurance) are the key focus. Of our management services business of Rs 100 crore, one-third comes from BFSI, one-third from healthcare or pharma. So, the requirement in pharma and BFSI is huge.
Have you won any contract in these spheres?
We have got a trial contract which we completed recently. We are going to get a contract soon from a pharma company.
What about your cinematography camera business?
This is another huge growth area for us. These are specialised cameras used by Bollywood directors. So far, they use the models priced above Rs 1 crore, but in terms of creating a great effect or stunt, this is biggest problem. If a car has to crash to create an effect the camera is gone, so u need a little cheaper model and that's why we have come up with cheaper cameras ranging from Rs 6 lakh to 15 lakh.
In compact cameras, companies are focusing on wi-i connectivity. Why is it important?
What we are noticing that wi-fi is becoming more important for high-end cameras. Connectivity between smart devices and the camera is becoming a strong criteria. Whereas in entry-level cameras, the direction is to include low light abilities, HD video and high optical zoom.