For Apcom, the survey period was continuation and consolidation of its tryst with Dax. The success it tasted with the introduction of the Dax range of modems in FY 1999-2000 led it to realign its multiple vendor focus and make a turnaround. And going by its financials for the year, it’s clear that Dax has made a strong dent. Out of a total revenue of Rs 52.50 crore from networking, Dax alone accounted for Rs 36.20 crore of revenue. This, at first glance, looks like nothing unusual. But considering the fact that it has been in the networking industry since 1988 and was pushing Compex till the last fiscal among other vendors, the decision to promote Dax was a demanding task. Today, for Apcom, it is Dax all the way in modems, NICs, hubs and switches; Eicon for routers and ISDN modems; and Nordx for the cabling markets.

The success for Apcom comes because of its innovativeness. And a single reason why it scores over others in the distribution game is its consolidation on technical expertise and its value-add to the distribution process, by providing ex-stock delivery, technical support, repair and warranty support, market sensitive promotions, and its responsiveness to channel partners. Besides the technical innovation, it has been very aggressive in its reach and sales strategy. Now that the realignment towards Dax has been put in place, this fiscal could be a landmark year for Apcom and Dax.

TO WATCH OUT