Executive Summary

Acer Info systems Ltd is one of the pioneers in the Indian IT market, with its Origins in 1976. For over quarter of a century, the company have developed and Implemented solutions for multiple market segments, across a range of technologies in India. With sound macroeconomic condition and buoyant buying sentiment in the Market, the desktop PC market grossed 23.4lc units, registering a growth of 36% over the same period last year. The notebook PC segment was the star performer, showing massive growth, 60% sequentially and 138% year-on-year and crossing the one lack barrier. This can be attributed to strong domestic growth in requirements and aggressive sales promotion offers by the players like HP, Lenovo, and HCL among Others. Again, brand recognition and image play a very important role in purchase decisions. Acer establishes a strong channel relationship by considering the channel members same way that it considers end users need. However, the needs of both of them are completely different from each other. For establishing a good channel relationship, it is necessary to consider the aspect like delivery, profit margins, incentives packaging, training and promotional help. The distribution channel is consisting of many parties each seeking for its own objectives. In order to have systematic and smooth flow it is necessary to maintain the strong relationship with the channel members by trusting and understanding each others need. This help to design a particular channel arrangement which can be which can be independent or dependent. Acer has certain channel model which helps to generate the revenue from the partner that results into regular change in product quality as per the end user need and also the changes in channel partner performance on end user satisfaction and loyalty.

From the survey done it has been got served that Acer has varieties of product with highly enabled technology and well design but they are lacking in the product recognition rather than brand awareness. That means, Acer need to perform huge amount of promotional activity not only for the consumer but also for channel members. Conducting training session for retailers and channel members is utmost need for the Acer in todays market. Because the only reason is they have got the product with good configuration and better technology and that too with less price but the end user are moving towards brand like Dell and HP who are providing the same configured product as huge price. This is because an
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Acer lacks in promotions. So for this purpose Acer have to focus on strengthening and measuring the quality of partner service and they have to support the marketing and account management. As of Hyderabad market is consider HP are on the top of the list, people are more attracted towards the brand which is having the highest sale, so they dont even try to look for the product of some other brand. Dell is promoting its more product in each and every kind media, by doing this customer knows the configuration they are looking for and the price too. Its the customer mindset that they think Dell offers more services than that of HP and Acer too. Aggressive promotion is the only thing, which keeps Dell moving on the top of the list. Customers are not aware that Acer too is offering the same configuration of laptop in much lesser amount and that too with highly enabled technology. The best way to sell against the competitor is performing the promotional activity and giving stress to product recognition. The following are some promotional activities that can help the organization to make people aware of the product and thereby increasing the sales: Auto and bus backs activity Hoarding on the most crowded and potential areas Conducting laptop fair Promoting the product on website Promoting in to the IT journal

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OBJECTIVE
Acer India Pvt. Ltd stands in No.2 position in terms of Notebook PC and No. 1 in terms of Net books and Monitors. In spite of having very less work force, Acer manages to be there in such outstanding position this is only because of the well-built, tough and strong Distribution Channel. The main objective of this project is: i. ii. To examine the distributors feedback about the product and services provided by Acer. To examine the management issues associated with particular type of intermediary activity and with particular management structure.

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Need of the study

1. To know how a company works using different marketing channels to reach to end users.

2. How Acer uses different channels to market its product.

3. To know how management gives additional value to channel partners.

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Research Methodology

The primary sources of data collection used in study are: 1) Questionnaire 2) Interview

Questionnaire:Feedback is collected using a questionnaire holding 13 questions, which are distributed to each channel member of Acer. The questionnaire gives us detailed information of, how is consumer behavior pattern about purchasing notebooks desktops and net books, what extra does channel member need from Acer, where is Acer lacking etc.

Interview:Interview was best method that helps us to gather information about the project study. From this method, we succeed to ask as many of questions and used to get a chance to observe the channel member behavior with the customers. This helps us to obtain good response rate and it was possible to ask in-depth questions.

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One of the methods of interview was conducting telephonic interview to dealers regarding the offers, which Acer is providing and making aware of some new product to the dealers.

Limitations

Due to the short period, it was not possible to cover each and every question and to obtain their answer in the process uncovered questions were asked in some other shop within the same area. 1) It was time consuming for dealer to answer every question.
2) The accurate data was not provided by channel partners. 3) Communication problem.

Literature Review
CHANNEL MARKETING:Set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user.

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The Network of partners in the value chain that cooperate to bring products from producers to ultimate consumers:

These include wholesalers, retailers, agents, brokers etc They called intermediaries, dealers, resellers or distributors. However, the prevailing view is that channel members are more than just middlemen They are comrade-in-arms. They are marketers first customers and partners; they add value to the marketers offer.

Nature and Importance of marketing channels:Channel choices affect other decisions in the marketing mix like pricing, place, promotion and marketing communication. The strong distribution channel help Acer to achieve
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competitive advantage over the competitors by building healthy and long term relation with the channel members. Channel decisions involve long-term commitments to the other firms. Contribution of channel members in adding the Value: Intermediaries require fewer contacts to move the product to the final purchaser. Intermediaries help match product assortment demand with supply. Intermediaries help bridge major time, place, and possession gaps that separate products from those who would use them. Key function performed by the channel members:1. Information 2. Promotion 3. Contact 4. Negotiation 5. Financing 6. Risk Taking

1)

Information:A distributor knows the real market, they are aware of the customers likes and dislikes. They can push the product by observing the needs and demands of the customers. Each dealer or a distributor carry lump sum amount of information regarding which brand is doing well in the market, and which product are selling as a hot cake. They carry information about all the brands and push the product, which fit, into the customers financial need. Now a days notebooks have become a primary need for a corporate consumer as well as students, and accordingly large brands including Acer is trying to meet the need of target consumer, but the information resides in the channel members who understand how the customer mind set is and which kind of product he is looking for.

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Companies utilizing resellers for selling their products depend on distributors to provide information that can help improve the product. High-level intermediaries may offer their suppliers real-time access to sales data including information showing how products are selling by such characteristics as geographic location, type of customer, and product location (e.g., where located within a store, where found on a website). If high-level information is not available, marketers can often count on resellers to provide feedback as to how customers are responding to products. Either this feedback can occur through surveys or interviews with resellers employees or by requesting the reseller allow the marketer to survey customers.

2)

Promotions:There are channel members who exclusively sales those brands with whom they are tied up as business partner; they use big posters to attract consumer in their stores and displays which helps to gain point of purchase. Besides issues related to physical handling of products, distribution decision is affected by the type of promotional activities needed to sell the product to customers. For products needing extensive salesperson-to-customer contact (e.g., automobile purchases) the distribution options are different from for products where customers typically require no sales assistance. They encourage sales of the product through their own advertising efforts and using other promotional means such as special product displays.

3)

Cost Savings in Specialization:Members of the distribution channel are specialists in what they do and can often perform tasks better and at lower cost than companies who do not have distribution experience. Marketers attempting to handle too many aspects of distribution may end up exhausting company resources as they learn how to distribute, resulting in the company being a jack of all trades but master of none.

4)

Reduce Exchange Time:-

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Not only are channel members able to reduce distribution costs by being experienced at what they do, they often perform their job more rapidly resulting in faster product delivery. For instance, consider what would happen if a grocery store received direct shipment from EVERY manufacturer that sells products in the store. This delivery system would be chaotic as hundreds of trucks line up each day to make deliveries, many of which would consist of only a few boxes. On a busy day, a truck may sit for hours waiting for space so they can unload their products. Instead, a better distribution scheme may have the grocery store purchasing its supplies from a grocery wholesaler that has its own warehouse for handling simultaneous shipments from a large number of suppliers. The wholesaler will distributes to the store in the quantities the store needs, on a schedule that works for the store, and often in a single truck, all of which speeds up the time it takes to get the product on the stores shelves

5)

Financial Support:Resellers often provide programs that customers easily purchase products by offering financial programs that ease payment requirements. These programs include allowing customers to: purchase on credit; purchase using a payment plan; delay the start of payments; and allowing trade-in or exchange options.

6)

Negotiation:From the survey done in market it has-been observed that the customers are price cautious rather than feature cautious so it becomes necessary for channel member to offer best suitable product, which fit in to their need. For this purpose channel members have to negotiate in order to purchase the product of our brand other customer will be diverted to other brand resulting into the loss of single customer. This function will help the company to increase the sales of laptop and this can be achieved by offering more numbers of offers to channel members.

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Channel Arrangements
The distribution channel consists of many parties each seeking to meet their own business objectives. Clearly, for the channel to work well, relationships between channel members must be strong with each member understanding and trusting others on whom they depend for product distribution to flow smoothly. These arrangements can divide in two main categories: 1) Independent Channel Arrangement Under this arrangement, a channel member negotiates deals with others that do not result in building relationships. In other words, a channel member is free to make whatever arrangements they feel is in their best interest. This so-called conventional distribution arrangement often leads to significant conflict as individual members decide what is best for them and not necessarily for the entire channel. On the other hand, an independent channel arrangement is less restrictive than dependent arrangements and makes it easier for a channel members to move away from relationships they feel are not working to their benefit. 2) Dependent Channel Arrangement Under this arrangement, a channel member feels tied to one or more members of the distribution channel. The dependent channel arrangement can be broken down into two types: 1. Contractual In this arrangement, a legal document obligates members to agree on how a product is distributed. Often times the agreement specifically spells out which activities each member is permitted to perform or not perform. This type of arrangement can occur in several formats including: A) Wholesaler-sponsored
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Where a wholesaler brings together and manages, many independent retailers including having the retailers use the same name. B) Retailer-sponsored This format also brings together retailers but the retailers are responsible for managing the relationship.

2. Corporate Under this arrangement, a supplier operates its own distribution system in a minor that produces an integrated channel. This occurs most frequently in the retail industry where a supplier operates a chain of retail stores. Starbucks is a company that does this. They import and process coffee and then sell it under their own brand name in their own stores. It should be mentioned that Starbucks also distributes their products in other ways, such as through grocery stores and mail order

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INTRODUCTION
INDUSTRY PROFILE:The laptop market has registered 79% Year-on-Year growth during 2009. The laptop sales are growing at much faster rate than projected. India's personal computer market is undergoing a major transition. However, laptop computers cannot completely wipe out desktop computers, because both are design to meet different needs or different consumer segments. The Major players in Laptop Market are:
Acer HP Dell HCL Lenovo Toshiba Sony Zenith

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Reason for the Expansion of Laptop Industry:The Laptop market is growing at a fast rate because of change in work life of consumers. As the need for "anytime anywhere" access to information is increasing, the sales of Laptops are also increasing. Indian Laptop market in now in sync with global market. It was in 2005 that sales of laptops surpassed the sales of desktop computers for the first time in India. Other factors that are responsible for the hike in sales figure are reduction in prices and affordability. Now Laptops are sold at approximately half the price at which they were sold two years ago. Laptops prices are now almost at par with the desktop computer prices. The third most important factor is duty free import of Laptops as a personal baggage that has helped a lot in increasing the penetration level of the product among the consumer population. Awareness about laptops has also increased over the years. Laptops with the best suitable configuration are available in the market, which allows different kind consumer to purchase it. Customers like corporate and student have different need of configuration, which helps the laptop market to, specifically concentrate on target market. Various kind of laptop considering design, configuration, size, portability and many important features enable different consumer to go ahead with suitable laptop, which helps Laptop industry to manufacture consumer friendly things, which could satisfy their utmost needs and demands.

Recent Market Review:The laptop computer market in India grew by 84.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 against the corresponding quarter last year, contributing significantly to the overall PC market growth of 25.1 per cent. More than five lakh notebook PCs were sold in the quarter, a study by market analyst IDC India said today. Hewlett Packard (HP) retained the top slot with a market share of 15.9 per cent, while Acer occupied the second position with a market share of 13.3 per cent, Dell occupied third with a market share of 12.9 per cent. Notebook PC sale in home and `Small Office and Home Office' (SOHO) segments grew by 103 per cent and made up 41.2 per cent of the total business. The next largest contributors were enterprise and education segments.
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Given the choice of portability, flexibility and ease of use and narrowing of priceperformance gap that once existed between portables and desktops, consumers are almost overwhelmingly inclined to buy notebook PCs. Further, laptop sales recorded a year-on-year growth of 87 per cent in the northern states of the country, followed by southern states at 70 per cent. Meanwhile, the desktop PC shipments showed a growth of 10.9 per cent in the same quarter. Due a constant drop in price rapid technical improvements and the swift evolution and extension of the WAN technology, notebooks are destined to replace desktops in most areas both professionally and at home. In addition, laptops are continually getting lighter and screen sizes bigger. Most new laptops come with 17-inch screens and weigh less than 7 pounds. Those with 15-inch monitors generally weigh less than 5 pounds. In addition, 14-inch is less than 4 pounds. On one hand, they will continue to improve in the traditional "way" catching up with the desktops in term of power and capacity and slowly replacing desktop for most needs. Another aspect is the extra portability evolution already underway with mini laptops, palmtops, tablet PCs and touch screen laptops. Combining extreme portability and WiFi, these mini laptops will replace gradually paper and pads, order sheets, notebooks and others

COMPANY PROFILE:Maple Tree

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Acer=Genre of the Maple tree.

It means sharp but soft leaves and robust Timber

ABOUT

Introduction:Originally named Multitech, established by Stan Shih, his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others in 1976. Multitech was eventually renamed Acer in 1987. It began with eleven employees and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies, but over time, it began to grow as a PC manufacturer. The global headquarters is located in Hsinchu City, Taiwan

Acer is the second largest computer manufacturer in the world (by sales) after HP, is No. 2 for notebooks, and has a global workforce of more than 6,000 employees. Revenues in 2009 reached US$17.9 billion. The company owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taipei, Taiwan.

The successful mergers of Gateway Inc. (October 2007) and Packard Bell Inc. (March 2008) by parent company, Acer Inc., completes the groups global footprint by further strengthening its presence in the U.S. and Europe. Established in 1976 with US$25,000 in capital and 11 employees, Acer today focuses on marketing its brand name IT products around the globe. In Europe, Acer mounted an association with the Ferrari Formula 1 Team. Prior to this, they were associated with Prost Grand Prix in 2001 and the BAR-Honda team in 2002. Their sponsorship of Prost was intensive and resulted in buying the naming rights to the engine. Throughout the 2001 season, the team was referred to as Prost-Acer. After Prost folded, Acer sponsored the BAR team. Acer then began to offer a line of premium laptops and LCD monitors with Ferrari branding. It has recently broadened the scope of its relationship with Ferrari by announcing it will sponsor the Formula 1 team until 2008. Acer
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has recently introduced the Ferrari line of products to North America, and rolled out a Ferrari-branded line of PDA devices.

Consolidated Revenues:-

US$ billion

Mission of Acers long-term mission is to break the barriers between people and technology. Acer commitment to developing easy-to-use, dependable products that meet their customers needs that has led to the creation of our unique Empowering Technology, designed to ensure that our customers receive the full benefit of each technological breakthrough. Empowerment through hardware, software and services that is the Acer brand promise.

Inc Facts:Acer is the fastest growing IT brand globally. Acer stands at the No. 1 position in Europe for Notebook Sales. It is Asias super brand 5 years in a row. Acer completes Gateways acquisition in USA. Now Acer is at no. 1 brand in Monitor and No.2 in PC brand in US retail. Recently Acer has completes Packard Bell Acquisition in Western Europe, this
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acquisition has help Acer to add 5% market share in EMEA region. It is continuing the association with Ferrari, now Acer is the official supplier and sponsor of IT to Ferrari worldwide. In addition to the sponsor of Scunderia Ferrari Acer is providing Ferrari notebooks followed by LCD monitors. These notebooks have sublime looks and innovative technology. In this ways two most reputed brands have close together worldwide this brand association has reflected dedication in efforts and enjoying the spirit of competition. i. ii. iii. iv. v.
vi. vii.

Dedication of effort and spirit of competition: Acer sponsors FC Barcelona team New York Yankee Pitcher Yamaha Motor cycle Racing Acer has got pride to sponsor in 2012 London Olympics 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Brand ambassador (Hritik Roshan) representing, dynamism, high performance, and Youthful energy in India.

Acer has got innovative caring personality since it efforts in empowering technology in the form of innovative design developed around customer needs. Acer has empowering technology with highly intuitive user interface on all products. The empowering technology provides key settings in major areas.

Technology leadership:i. ii. iii.

iv.

First, to launch P4, Centrino, Sonoma, Yonah, Merom,Santa Rosa Platforms worldwide & in India .Now Penryn! First, to launch fully functional Linux laptops in India in 2005. First, to launch Tablet PC, Finger Print, smart card integrated laptops worldwide. They have 3D series also.

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In India:-

Acer India (Pvt) Ltd. was incorporated on 9 September 1999, a 100% subsidiary of Acer Inc. Acer India has its headquarters in Bangalore, with branch offices in Ahmadabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Nagpur and Pune. India Reconfiguration Center opened at Pondicherry in December 1999. Moved to 3X location in Aug 2003. In spite of many branch offices covering major areas across India Acer, lacks in work force in compare to its competitor. The approximate figure of Manpower in India is between 6000 to 8000. From this figure, we can conclude that Acer main business lies in distribution channel. It has strong distribution channel which helps to increase its sales across the country. This is where the company has competitive advantage over other large organizations, many retailers and distributors have joined effort with the company, which helps the company to achieve at the outstanding position in India, that too in the short span of time with Year on year growth of 180%. Acer, is more interested in using the distribution channel and understand the function that this channel performs. It has understood the channel members interaction and how they organize to perform the work of channels. Acer knows the major channel alternatives that are open to the company. Company comprehends the selections, motivation and evaluation of channel members. Acer Understand the nature and importance of marketing logistics and integrated supply chain management In consideration to the Hyderabad market, Acer stands here in no. 1 position. Complete market is a joint effort of Acer employees starting from the lower level employees to higher level and in addition to the major contribution of channel member like local dealers, distributors and retailers. Together it has formed a strong value delivery network, which means, The network made up of the company, suppliers, distributors, and ultimately customers who partner with each other to improve the performance of the entire system.

India Location:-

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Strategy:Acer has focused on three micro areas: Mobility Traditionally mobility equals notebooks and PDA. It has-been observed that technology has refined this area but not redefined it. New technology will enable
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new solutions and applications targeting specific needs. Ultra mobile devices, wireless connectivity, and enhanced graphics will generate new needs and applications. Enterprise In todays world, Security and Manageability are becoming a main concern for professional customer. Security in terms of private data storage and manageability in terms of optimum utilization of resources. Server consolidations provide easier-tomanage storage and security and far greater flexibility. With addition to high configured server new form factor, thin-client will replace current form factor.

PRODUCTS:Acers PC-centric product offering includes mobile and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, Projectors, and Handheld/navigational devices. Sub-brands include the consumer-focused Aspire series, and commercial sector Travel Mate, Veriton, and Altos series. The following is laptop brand survey in worldwide market where Acer stands at No.2 position.

Products & Services

Laptop & Computer

Acer Ferrari 1000 Large Image

Acer Aspire 8930 Large Image

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 Acer Travel Mate 6593 Large Image Acer Projector P5270 Large Image

Acer Aspire One Acer Desktop Verizon L460 Large Image - 11.6" Large Image

Acer Desktop Aspire X1700 Large Image

Acer

Extensor

Large Image

Acer LCD H243H High definition Large Image

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Acer Not book Aspire One Ultra-Thin 10.1"

Acer Aspire 5535

Acer Aspire One AOD1501669 Not book 10.1

Acer Not book Aspire One A1101995

Acer 640BU Acer 640U Acer 99sl Acer View 77e 17" Monitor Acer view 79g 17" Monitor Acer View 99c 19" Monitor Acer AL1716 Acer AL2016 Acer AL2216W Acer AL2223W Acer AL922 Acer CRW 1208A Acer CRW 1610A Acer CRW 2010A Acer CRW 4406EU External USB Acer CRW 4432A CDRW Drive Acer CRW 8432A Acer CRW-1832A
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Acer CRW-6424MU Acer Ergo 61 Ergonomic Keyboards Acer Ferrari F-20

Aspire one Net books:-

Acer ranks No. 1 in net book worldwide. Its key features are: 1) Lightest Net book 2) Crystal Bite Screen 3) World class support 4) Atom Processor 5) Multi-card reader 6) International traveler warranty 7) Great looks 8) Available in 5 distinct color
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Is also into the sales of accessories like:1) Carry cases 2) CD/DVD Media 3) Ext. hard drives 4) Printer and Ink 5) Softwares 6) Speakers 7) TV tuners 8) USB memory pens 9) Webcams 10) Wireless and 3G

SWOT Analysis Of Strengths:1. Market share

Acer has a considerably strong domestic PC market share. During the year 2004 and 2005, the market share for PC products reached 27 and 26 percent respectively, which was more than double of the second vendor, Founder. Technical innovation

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made the significant contribution, and also the close relationship with the Chinese government.
2. Retaining Customer

Establish the customer-oriented sales model. Acer built a network comprising 110 sales zones spanning 9 regions in China, which allowed Acer to meet customer needs more efficiently and to improve its control of customer information. Implementation of an effective customer segmentation strategy. This strategy ensured Acer to meet the demands by modifying its product lines. For instance, the computer series of 4736 is for the high-end consumer market and the series of
3. Price

4. Mobile Sector The dominant competitiveness in its mobile handset business. Acers mobile handset unit shipment jumped 63 percent year-over- year by building its sales channels and enhancing its R&D capabilities. 5. Product Uniqueness The laptops are designed for Indian climate condition, where the ambient temperature is higher and the surface temperature of laptop tend to become uncomfortable. Heavy investment in technology, product design, and human resources. Focus on innovative products for the high-end market

Weaknesses: New Competitor -

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The compensation problem. It is pretty difficult to achieve due to wide disparity in compensation packages of IBM and Lenovo employees. Position With respect to Competitors Acer being the pioneer in the technology, who has introduced Indian customer with are available at affordable range still it stands fifth in the position in India reason behind this could be, it cannot create a great disorder brand image for itself. Focus on mass market instead of niche markets.

Opportunity:I. Serving need for Indian Market According Indian temperature designed laptop and Desktop. II. Untapped Market The number of B-school and Education Institution are coming large in good relationship with them to get sales order.
III.

number.

They are hugely dependent on laptop impart education, so ACER can establish the

Acer is in need of an IT supported process to deal with its electronic procurement inefficiencies. Building a worldwide supplier network.

Threats:i. Competitors
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The old time players like HP, Lenovo, Compaq and Dell understand the plus of the market and has better grip over the customer through their performance and service as compare of Acer. ii. Recession The recent recessions going to affect the sales of laptops. iii. New competitors with different skills and potent brands challenge.

Market Share of Laptop Industry

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Awards

Acer Travel Mate 8200 and 5-Series LCD monitors win the 2006 iF Design awards Travel Mate 8200 and 5-Series (AL1751/AL1951/AL2051W) LCD monitors have won the 2006 iF (International Forum) awards for product design. The iF seal of design excellence has become a symbol for superior quality and developed into a trend-setting design competition over the past five decades.

Acer gets the "Gold" Computer Super Brand in Asia for seventh consecutive year In the 2005 Reader's Digest Super Brand survey, Acer was named Asia's computer Super Brand Gold winner for the seventh consecutive year. These brands were rated quantitatively and qualitatively and the very top-performing brands were awarded Gold Super Brand status. Acer also received top rankings in Hong Kong , Malaysia , Thailand and Taiwan.

Acer Travel Mate 3000 wins coveted Red Dot award for product design Acer's Travel Mate 3000 notebook PC has won one of the world's most sought-after design awards -- the Red Dot -- for superior design quality. The award was presented by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen of Germany and is a testament of the global recognition of Acer's high quality and customer-centric products.

iF Design Award: A trademark for outstanding industrial design Acer's AL2032 W LCD monitor is a winner of the 2005 iF design (International Forum Design) awards; as one of the best-known design contests in the world, the iF design award has become a prestigious trademark for outstanding design, and a symbol of a company's commitment to innovation

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Red Dot Award: World-class German design institute commends the AL1731 LCD Acer's AL1731 LCD monitor has won the prestigious Red Dot award that represents one of the most coveted quality marks for excellence in design around the world. Noted for its streamlined design and user-centric interface, the AL1731 LCD is a winner in the 2004 Product Design - Media and Home Electronics category. Acer is honored to receive this recognition for design capability;

President Chen Honors Acer with Gold and Silver National Awards of Excellence June 2001 Acer brings home one gold and four silver awards at the prestigious 2001 National Awards of Excellence ceremony, managed by the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA), Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization. The annual awards program is designed to honor the most innovative and competitive Taiwan-made products. Acer products collected four of 21 silver awards, and one of nine gold awards this time around, bringing its impressive collection of Taiwan's premier prizes to a total of 18 (12 silver, 6 gold) over the last nine consecutive years.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Table A: Knowledge about the market:-

Parameter Very Good Good Fair Total

Number of respondents 43 30 17 90

Percentage 48% 33% 19% 100%

Source: Primary Data

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Analysis: From the above Table A it is clear that market is better than last few month. 48% people said that it is very good, 33% said that market is good and remaining 19% said that market is neither bad of nor good.

B. knowledge about business:

Parameter Desktop Laptop

Number of respondents 28 35
31

Percentage 31% 39%

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Assemble Desktop Total

27 90

30% 100%

Source: Primary Data

Analysis:From the above table B it is clear that, Most of the dealers are doing business in both of the area as like laptop and Desktop. As we can see that after survey the result is that 28% of the dealer use to sale laptop and 35% of the dealer sale Desktop, as per the percentage we can see that now days also there is more demand of Desktop in comparison to laptop. The desktop which they use to sale is most of that one are Assembled.

C. Analysis of Brand:-

Parameter

Number of respondents
32

Percentage

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HP Dell Acer HCL Lenovo Total

27 18 24 9 12 90

30% 20% 27% 10% 13% 100%

Source: Primary Data

13% 10% 30% HP Dell Acer 27% HCL 20% Lenovo

Analysis of table C:In overall Hyderabad the sales of HP is ahead than that of Acer, but it has been observed that the growth of Acer from previous month has been 22% whereas Dell has growth of only 14% , HP is having 18% increase in sales than previous month. Many of the customer never noticed that whatever HP is offering the same configuration has been offered by Acer at very low cost in addition to it with higher technology of DDR 3 RAM, Multigesture Keypad, Floating Keyboard and many more. This is where Acer lacks in conveying the idea to the customer. Acer has already pushed back Lenovo and HCL that too in very short span of time. Customer always attracted towards the brand, so every time they enter in to the Shop they go for and HP, only reason is Acer lacks in promotional activity. It has been found that HP
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has already make online purchasing in US and other major areas due to which customer can directly go for online purchasing these results in loss for channel members who work hard to push their product. This proves to be positive sign for Acer in which they can easily grab the local market instead of going for online selling of product.

D. Knowledge about consumer preference:-

Parameter Price cautious Feature cautious Both Total

Number of respondents 32 21 37 90

Percentage 36% 23% 41% 100%

Source: Primary Data

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Analysis:Customer always comes with the certain configuration; they only look for the brand and price range. Most of the customers are more cautious about price and feature. Sometimes the promotional activity also helps the brand to sale more number of products, Acer comes with new range of laptop and certain offer for end user so wherever customer find the matching product in addition to the offers on notebooks they prefer those product only. Acer has launched nation-wide campaign, which is focused on reaching out to their customers through focus customer segments. They have revamped their marketing strategies in India and are going very aggressive to enhance their relation with channel and to promote the sales. Providing multiple opportunities to its channel, Acer has been organizing different activities and awareness programs. Acer is a 100% indirect company.

E. Awareness about Acer new launch of Consumer Notebooks and Gateway products
Analysis:As mentioned earlier the major problem does not lies in brand awareness, majority of channel member are more aware of the brand the problems lies in the product recognition.
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Channel member are still suggesting the old product with not so good technology as if they are selling the product having DDR2 RAM but they do not know Acer has started selling product with DDR3 technology. Acer has launch new aspire series of consumer laptops with good looks and better technology like Aspire 4736 and Aspire 5738 with both Pentium dual core processors and Core 2 duo processors and core i models. First time in laptop, market Acer launches the laptop with any Application software installed like MS Office2007 that too with three-user license. But this complete information are lacking to channel members this is the main reason why the Acer sales are not improving with still better looks and technology than its competitors. In other words, channel members need regular visit for giving the information about the latest product and company offers to the channel members so that they can push the product to the end user. In order to make aware of the new launch Acer has put a step forward and conducted a meet regarding the new series and their advantages over the other brand. This idea has help to some extent and it has been observed that company is getting more sales from few of their potential channel members. The gateway launch is good for Acer because from this Acer can easily compete Blue series of Sony and Dell.

F. Role of National Distributors

Analysis:Many of the channel member are registered with any of the national distributors so that it help them to get the stock whenever there is requirement, this is crucial process in which company make available the stock to the national distributors and channel members are directly attached to the national distributors since many of the dealers are into Back to Back deals i.e., whenever the customer needs the products they are directly inform to any of the national distributor where the stock is available. This process continues for shorter period because customer may get diverted to some other brand and billing is done on that particular moment itself. There is some of the local dealer who is not in to direct selling of the laptop and these dealers are not registered with any kind of national distributors, they are mainly local player those they did not keep stock just they take order and complete it.

G. Inflexibility in selling Acer Products and Services

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Analysis:Acer is into various products like Notebooks, Net books, Server, Projectors, Monitors etc. when done the survey it has been observed that Acer sale more number of TFT is in the Indian Market than that of Notebooks. In addition, when dealing with net books, Acer stands at the No. 1 position, it equally sales net books with good numbers. Channel member always deal with Acer TFTs in market because most of the customer go with those brand. Server and projector are newly added customer is not completely aware of that product of Acer brand so it will take time to gain the position among top. Projector and server are normally purchased by the any institution as June-July are the month where most of the institution are open so this is the best time to sale this product and make them aware of our brand also. Notebooks are also among them, many Business school now offer notebooks to their student so accordingly it is beneficial for the company to go for B2B marketing. By doing this company can gain huge profit in just short span of time. It has been observed that in such kind of deal end user expects some extra from the organization like: 1) Service quality 2) Technical skills 3) Commitment to your brand 4) Overall customer satisfaction and loyalty 5) Discount or offer 6) Interpretations: Channel member usually go for pasting the poster and banners of particular brand in and around the shop. They also keep some displays and product for the demo purposes, these activities help for the point of purchase. Along with this sometimes, they even go for media advertisement also like printing the name of the shop along with the brand they usually deal with. They also generate the walk- In by distributing the customer guide to each and every customer who just came to have looked over a product for demo, in this way they can make aware of the products. They also give some offer to attract towards there shop.

H. Feature Differentiation with respect to Competitor

Unique feature that Acer has:
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1) HD screen with Hi-Definition Picture 2) Floating Keypad allows to type easy without mistyping 3) Multi-gesture touchpad 4) Dolby surround sound 5) HDMI port that enhance multimedia experience 6) Feather light build ultra portable 7) Compact size of CPU 8) Battery life 9) Soft touch key pads

I. Features that are lacking:

1) Not many varieties are present 2) Color choices are not more 3) Not much offers in comparison to its competitors 4) Product awareness is less 5) Price
6) OS installation problem

J. Importance of Sales Tools and Marketing program Analysis:Recently Acer has given the offer which states that Acer having wide range of exciting products to offer to customer and range of exciting gifts for the partners, the higher the slab
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partner will achieve, they will stand a chance to win exciting gifts. This was the offer for summer on Aspire range of laptops of consumer notebooks. In addition to it, Acer also offers monthly slap for certain units of laptops. Acer has given the upfront discount on each product, which channel member use to sell. On the other hand, these programs are informed to the channel member after a long, due to which channel member did not get the time to complete the offer. Because of this, they deny most of the offers and due to which it lose most of the sales. Many channel members have got the complain about the promotion of Acers, in order to provide good service and productivity they are in need of keeping some new range of laptops on displays and some posters giving crucial information about new launches of notebooks and other products.

Findings
Channel model provide a comprehensive view of the overall dynamics and performance of each element of sales channel. Channel model combines the survey of both the end users and the channel partners, in a way like end users purchases satisfaction and loyalty on one hand and partners satisfaction with the product, services and program on the other hand. Channel model projects impacts on the revenue that is generated from the partners, which results into:-

1) Changes in channel partners performance on end user satisfaction and loyalty 2) Channel model can show how and where to invest in improvements in products, services and programs to best increase revenues through the channel partners.
3) People prefer small size & lightweight laptop sand most of them are price conscious.

4) According to survey, 34% of people said price is important factor while purchasing a laptop. People find price is attractive. 5) 80% people like the writing feature of Acer. 6) Most of the people are not aware that Acer Customer Care is available in 11 languages & 24x7.
7) From the customers view, 37% will buy this product because of its feature.

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Service quality:The kind of service channel partners or members are giving to the final end users is very essential. This dimension will help both the organization and channel member to earn profit in a way that could end in to the Win- Win situation. If the consumer entered into the shop demanding the request for some other brand rather than Acer and if the channel member is offering them most suitable configuration of what consumer has decided by showing them the Acer product then it definitely add value to the organization. Other than this after purchasing our product, customer may have some need regarding after sales services in such situation channel member could help them to solve the particular problem by giving the Acer service centre number. The service quality improves the brand by creating some loyal customers.

Technical skills:After purchasing of the product, customer always expect the after sales services from the organization which include repairing of the hardware which are under the warranty period completely free of cost and that too in shorter span of time. Other technical issues that customer come across are like software installation and regarding operating System queries.

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Conclusion
From the survey done, it has been observed that Channel member play a most vital role in Acer, since it has less work force and good productivity which is only because of the effort of channel member together with Acer employees. Better understanding, regular visit to channel members, Motivational factors affects the flow of selling of the product. With the less number of employees Acer manages to acquire the position among top 3 in terms of note books, along with this Acer stands at No. 1 position in Monitors and Net books which states that company has got strong distribution channel. This proves that Acer has the capability to: Better anticipate and serve the need of channel partners Better recognize and rewards for most valuable partner Better coach channel partner for outstanding performance Increase the revenue generate through the partner and channel In addition to this advantage there are certain area where Acer lacks, form the questionnaire we made and the response that we got from the channel members shows that Acer have to focus on aggressive promotions. Other than the media advertisement, Acer have to
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concentrate on some different types of promotion techniques like putting the hoarding on the area where most of the people visits, conducting road shows, auto back and bus back activities and websites. It is also going to start some offers on its new range of aspire series of consumer notebooks. It is going to start conducting training session in large retail outlet so that channel member could precisely give information about their product. Acer is now trying to focus on some potential T2 and T3 channel members according to Area wise, which will exclusively sale the Acer brand. The location where more often notebook sales occur have been targeted and continuous visit to each channel member for feedback and performance of channel member have been observed by the employees. Since Acer is 100% channel committed, it will continue to build up strong relationship with channel members and partners.

Suggestions and recommandations

From the End user and channel member feedback it has been observed that customers are more likely to purchase those product whose configuration matches with affordable price. If at all, they find such matching product in some known brand they are more attracted towards it. Acer lack here, in conveying the idea to the channel member and end user, about product, which are coming with highly enabled technology and less priced. In order to increase the attention of channel member as well as end users we have given some suggestions regarding the promotional activity and giving some exciting offers to the channel partners. The usual promotional practices have been done before so it was necessary to observe the trend of Hyderabad and accordingly we suggested following measures:
1) Hoarding over a bridge:

There are few areas where we found huge crowd of students and people who are doing the job, since many of the student now a day prefer to buy notebook instead of going for
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desktop so listing this areas and keeping the hoarding specifying the detailed information about the product could prove an increase in walk in. 2) Selection of Potential channel members for exclusive selling of Acer products If Acer has nearest competitor, it is the time to choose some potential channel member who will exclusively sales Acer product. From each area, we have selected minimum two partners who will aggressively promote Acer brand and make aware bout the product to the end users. 3) Conducting Laptop Mela Conducting road shows are already taking place in many of the retail shop and some other places but in order to provide the detail information regarding Acer new launch. 4) Advertisement on website where most of the hits occurs in a day Students and businessperson usually prefer internet to read about the latest happening in the market, students use search engines for obtaining data regarding various topics. Young generation are more towards joining online community for increasing social network like Orkut, Face book, My space etc. so we can also show some advertisement in such website to reveal the latest product of Acer. 5) Need to expand customer care center as the consumer base Acer Laptop is increasing with tremendously fast pace. 6) Acer should take proper attention towards marketing of Touch screen portable laptops. Many people are unaware of Touch screen of. 7) Company executive should pay proper attention towards checking of various components of PC before end user delivery. Otherwise it tends towards defame of brand name in comparison to rivals. 8) Proper attention should be paid for advertisement planning otherwise it may lead to problem for dealer and customer as well as for company.

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Bibliography
Books Referred

Distribution Channel and Marketing by Edwin Lee Quantitative Techniques for Management, Sharma J K., Tata McGraw Publication Co, New Delhi, 2005.
Marketing management by Philip Kotler and Keller, 13th Edition

Websites: www.acer.co.in
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www.shopacer.com www.Customersat.com www.ask.com www.google.com www.managementparadise.com

Appendix
QUESTIONNAIRE Name of the Dealer: Contact No: Contact Person Name: Email Id:

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1) Hows the Market for Acer?

Very good (

B. Good (

C. Bad (

2) You are doing business in ?

Desktop ( ) B. Laptop ( ) C. If assembled basis how many no. in a month ( )

3) Which brand is doing well at your outlet? HP& Compaq ( ) B. Dell ( ) C. Acer ( ) D. HCL ( ) E. Lenovo ( )

4) How many desktops or laptops you sell in a month? Company Laptop Desktop

5) Whether the customer is more price cautious or feature cautious?

6) Are you registered with any distributor? If Yes then which national distributor?

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7) Hows the Acer service support?

8) What is the Importance marketing tool of Acer is they are beneficial for increasing sales and Awareness?

9) Among the available features which are the most important differentiators of your product and services; what features currently lacking would be most valuable?

10) What sales tools and marketing programs we currently provide are most valuable; what tools and programs currently lacking would be most valuable?

Remarks:

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