Good after-sales service is critical for Indian companies to purchase expensive and high-quality machinery. But both exporters and companies manufacturing in India often see providing this after-sales service as a major challenge. It is not at all necessary. Here are two ways in which you can smartly set up your service organization in India.
Annual Maintenance Contract
How best to organize your service depends on the type of product you sell in India. For example, if you export simple products that require little maintenance, telephone support and the possible supply of spare parts will suffice. If, on the other hand, you offer complex products or customer-specific solutions, you will face a greater challenge in India.
This is because often these types of products require regular maintenance or repairs on site, and that can be difficult in a country as large as India. In India, it is common for companies to enter into what are called Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC) with you as a supplier for this purpose. An AMC is an annual maintenance contract with your customer for the repair and maintenance of the products you supply and can run for about 1 to 3 years. It is almost impossible to set up such a comprehensive service in India from abroad. Apart from the high cost, the quality of service is usually substandard due to the longer response times. There are two ways you can organize this in a thorough way in India.
1. Outsource to a local dealer
You can choose to outsource your service in India to a local partner. The advantage of a local partner is that they are already established in the Indian market and have a network of distributors, mechanics and customer service representatives from which you can benefit directly. But if you offer a complex custom product or solution, chances are the Indian dealers do not have the technical and product-specific know-how to provide good service to your customers. Moreover, you need to figure out in advance how to protect sensitive information about your product and how to contractually manage the partnership to ensure that the services provided meet your company's quality standards. In addition, you must properly manage the storage and delivery of your spare parts. Sending the spare parts from abroad when they are needed is an inadvisable strategy. This will cause an awful lot of delays in the good service you want to provide.
2. Setting up your own service organization in India
If you provide a high-quality product, it is highly recommended to have a permanent presence in India. Only in this way can you guarantee a thorough and comprehensive service. Indeed, having your own sales and service office in India enables you to provide service that is carried out according to your quality requirements by your own personnel. Due to the size of the country and the differences between Indian states, it is often unavoidable to have to work with one or more outside dealers for nationwide coverage. Then again, having your own service office in India takes a lot of work off the head office's hands if collaborations with outside dealers are initiated. This is because they can maintain day-to-day contact and check that the work is being done correctly.
Even for the distribution and storage of your products, having your own staff ensures that this is done with the right knowledge and in the right way. Of course there are costs involved, but if you use the storage and distribution for your regular sales and installation as well as for service afterwards, it is often well worth the investment. You can also more easily offer your Indian customers from your own entity an AMC that meets their needs. Indian customers are notorious for their high service expectations. If you are able to provide good service after purchase, then you will have an excellent starting position in India.