Chinese PC maker Lenovo is looking to secure its footing in the Indian market, and simultaneously reduce its legacy dependence on IBM, with the company not renewing an agreement it had with IBM for after-sales service and support.
According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Lenovo India has invested over Rs. 100 crore in the last six months to set up a service partner network of its own, in a move that signals its commitment to the domestic market. “After we acquired IBM’s PC business, there was an agreement that IBM would manage our post-sales service. However, we have now set up own network it as we wanted direct knowledge of our customers and also to bring in better transparency ,” said Sudipto Ghosh, Executive Director, Services.
The cost of service delivery through an outsourced relationship was also proving to be expensive for the company, especially in the current economic scenario, according to several executives who did not wish to be named.
“We did it [the transition] through a phased roll-out starting from the April, and are now wholly managing our after-sales service by ourselves,” Mr. Ghosh added.
Though Lenovo’s India’s official agreement with IBM ended two months ago, the company has spent the last six months in creating the infrastructure and service platform needed for servicing its consumer and enterprise customers.
Employee trainingAccording to officials, Lenovo India spent nearly Rs. 60-70 crore in acquiring spare parts. The rest of the investment has gone into setting up contact centres and training its employees. “I’d like to think of it as a well-oiled engine right now. We’re able to give a much better level of service as we can respond faster and at a much cheaper cost,” Mr. Ghosh said.
