iVOOMi, a Chinese electronic major OEM/ODM, expanding its footprint in tier 2, 3 & 4 markets in India through its mid-segment products. In an interaction with TelecomTiger, Ashwin Bhandari, CEO, iVOOMi India talks about current projects, challenges and future plans. Excerpts from his interview:

Q. What are the motivators for iVOOMi to manufacture & design its products in India?

A. Since the time we entered the Indian market, we have witnessed growth in all dimensions. We see huge potential in the Indian market and the most important change in the market is yet to be seen. Next year the market will shift faster than ever before, and with this volume it''s highly motivating to manufacture our smartphones in India. We believe producing/manufacturing close to the market enables us to be highly agile and responsive towards the market.

Further as we see the government moving forward on to the next stage of PMP, pushing PCBA manufacturing and Moulding in India, this will enable the ecosystem to curve to the next level wherein the total control of the product will be within India. This will help in managing the products and inventory better basis the market.

Post this we wish to start designing of our products within India, which will highly localise the products and making it the best choice for India and its neighboring countries.

Q. How is iVOOMi contributing to the 'Make in India' initiative of the government and to what extent will this help iVOOMi and in what ways?

A. 95%+of the products delivered today by iVOOMi is made in India. We strongly believe in the Make in India initiative and see this as a very big opportunity for the Indian business environment.

As we come from a manufacturing background with a long experience in designing and manufacturing products, we see great opportunity for us and believe we have an edge over the local players.

Q. Would moving beyond just assembling the products in India to designing them locally have any impact on the overall performance of the devices?

A. The Indian smartphone market is growing at a very fast pace. This is the best time to manufacture and design our devices locally and it will in fact, enable us to deliver products that are more suitable and satisfactory for the Indian market. This will ensure better logistics and supply chain management basis the market. Once we start the designing of our products within India, it will help in lowering of production costs and improvement in the quality of the products and enable us to deliver better devices at value prices.

Q. Will this initiative have any impact on the credibility of the brand in the mind of the customer?

A. Yes, it would. International Brands that manufacture in India have witnessed huge growth. This is true across all the industries, including FMCG, Automobiles, to name a few. So surely this will be received well by the Indian consumers.

Q. Why choose Hipad Technology to locally manufacture & design iVOOMi's devices? How do you plan to take this association forward?

A. We have had a long standing relationship with Hipad. For years, we have worked very closely with Hipad on multiple projects in strategic terms. Hipad EMS is the best in South East Asia with a proven track record for more than 10 years. Hence, we want to leverage on our long relationship to deliver best-in-class products every day. Further, we are happy to see our partner embark on a partnership with Xiaomi for production.

Q. What is your target business growth rate? What are your further business expansion plans?

A.  We are confident that we would witness double growth every quarter in each of our portfolios. We are working on unique product lines and business models to deliver better and better products every day, which is why we see no hurdles towards growth. The team is working towards the single goal of consumer satisfaction and consumer delight every day, which will ensure stability and bright future in India.

First, it was the team, which we have already established; and we have also been recognized in the market. 2018 will mark the next phase for us, we have huge plans in terms of innovative products, and innovative sales models to reach our consumers, better after-sales service in terms of value added services, and further growing till we set up our own R&D in India by 2019.