TVS Electronics, founded in 1986, has evolved into a comprehensive electronics solutions’ provider in India. With a focus on indigenous product development and embracing innovation, the company offers end-to-end electronic solutions across various sectors, including retail, banking, and government establishments.
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TimesTech: Can you summarize TVS Electronics’ journey in India over the past 37 years and highlight its transformation into an integrated electronics solutions provider?
Mr. Srinivasan: TVS Electronics, founded by Gopal Srinivasan on September 15, 1986, has evolved significantly over its 37-year journey in India. Over the years, we have successfully transitioned into an integrated electronics solutions provider. While we initially started as a B2B-focused company, we are now also focusing on D2C business. As a prominent Indian electronics brand, TVS Electronics provides a complete suite of electronic solutions, including design, manufacturing, sales, services, warranty solutions, and end-of-life services. We cater to a diverse range of businesses, including retail, shipping and logistics, banking, and government establishments.
Our flagship offering is the Comprehensive Retail Solutions (CORE) platform, which includes touch POS systems, thermal printers, barcode scanners, label printers, cash counting machines, mobile printers, and consumables. Additionally, we provide a range of IT peripherals including membrane and mechanical keyboards.
Embracing innovation, our industry 4.0 facility in Tumakuru, Karnataka, focuses on electronic manufacturing services. Moreover, we are striving towards excelling in field support services, offering warranty solutions for IT products to Global OEMs and IT infrastructure managed services for medium to large organizations, optimizing the total cost of ownership.
Our end-to-end comprehensive product and services is bolstered by an expansive nationwide footprint, covering 427 districts across India. Engaging directly with our customers, we operate through 210+ walk-in service centres, 150 collection points, 25 warehouses and with a dedicated team of over 5000 professionals on the ground. Furthermore, we have a pan-India distribution network of 25 system integrators, 140 distribution partners, and 4000 resellers ensuring widespread access and support for our cutting-edge solutions.
TimesTech: How has TVS Electronics navigated the challenges and opportunities in the Indian market while emphasizing indigenous product development in line with the ‘Make in India’ vision?
Mr. Srinivasan: We have strategically prioritized indigenous product development in alignment with the ‘Make in India’ vision. Product development with emphasis on local value addition has yielded positive impact on various aspects of the company’s operations.
We have established a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Tumakuru, Karnataka, as part of our commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. This facility is a beacon of innovation, embodying the latest in technology having industry 4.0 capabilities offering advanced electronic manufacturing solutions. By establishing this cutting-edge facility, we are poised to fulfil the rising demand for PCB assembly, testing, and integration in India’s electronic manufacturing services industry. This expansion promises to not only drive the cost savings but also improve the company’s ability to deliver competitively priced products to the market.
Our Tumakuru plant is fully equipped to manufacture a diverse range of electronic products, IT & peripherals, consumer electronics, green energy, industrial automation, and telecom. The goal is to achieve over 80% value addition in India for all our products, positioning ourselves as a class I supplier for government establishments and the preferred supplier for major private organizations. This commitment underscores our dedication to indigenous product development and aligns with the ‘Make in India’ vision.
TimesTech: What role does state-of-the-art IT infrastructure play in maintaining TVS Electronics’ seamless Sales and Service network, and how has technology been leveraged to enhance service delivery?
Mr. Srinivasan: We have built a strong presence in leading online marketplaces, ensuring that our products are widely accessible for our customers. Furthermore, we have our own e-commerce store. To broaden our reach further, we are actively seeking strategic partnerships with both pure e-tailers and brick-and-mortar retailers, aiming to enhance our nationwide footprint.
In addition, to ensure seamless field support services for our Global OEMs, we have developed a unique digital platform called ServiceTec. This platform leverages digital ecosystems to improve operational efficiency, predictability, and profitability apart from featuring a comprehensive digital stack which seamlessly connects repair engineers, OEMs, and consumers on real-time. This implementation has not only transformed our process and delivery model but also facilitated dynamic engagement with our corporate ecosystem, showcasing our commitment to robust customer service frameworks and delivering superior customer experience.
Our digital platform has evolved over a period and connects entire ecosystem including supply chain, self-help to field engineers and automated call management enabled with AI/ML use cases.
TimesTech: Could you share some key milestones achieved during your tenure at TVS Electronics, particularly in customer service solutions, and the strategies employed to establish robust frameworks?
Mr. Srinivasan: I have had the privilege of being associated with TVS-E for over 25 years, during which I have undertaken key responsibilities across various domains viz. customer service solution business, including field service and audits, product sales and services, regional service management, and program and product management. I spearheaded the establishment of the sales and service channel network across Andhra Pradesh and North market.
To enhance our customer service offerings, we have established strategic partnerships with key brands in IT & Peripherals, Banking POS, and e-commerce industry vertical. TVS-E today reaches over 19,500 postal codes across country with a service network of over 475 service partners and 5000 field agents. Service management for this scale is backed up with state of art advanced level (Level 3 & 4) PCBA and panel repair factory, 150-seater tech support centre and integrated operations control centre is co-located with our manufacturing factory based out of Tumakuru, Karnataka which is spanning over 10,000 square feet, capable of meeting the expanding needs of our customers.
Our facility is equipped with the latest technology and staffed by skilled technicians who specialize in handling complex PCBAs and LCM repairs. Apart from this, a dedicated 2,000 square feet Class-10000 cleanroom facility equipped with advanced machinery, including polarizer lamination and delamination machine capable of handling panels up to 65 inches in size. Our facility also provides temperature and humidity-controlled testing to ensure product reliability apart from ISO 9001 & 14001 certification.
Further, we also have established partnership with prominent retail software providers like Royal POS, Snapbizz, and Queue Buster. These partnerships enable us to tailor solutions according to specific customer requirements, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions for different segments within the retail industry.
TimesTech: How has TVS Electronics’ AI-enabled Auto Schedule and Allocation Engine transformed service delivery and improved customer experience?
Mr. Srinivasan: In line with our digital strategy to “digitalise” processes, our AI based Auto Call Schedule and Allocation Engine, integrates customer appointments to assign the job to the right-skilled field agents and instantly relays the schedule communication to customers. Customer also has a choice to view enroute map of agent until he/she arrives, thereby ensuring transparency in the call management transactions. Though it is a complex process and we have evolved the workflow, which has given significant results in terms of improving customer experience apart from cost advantage.
Our exceptional innovations and transformative initiatives led us to receive “The Business Transformation Award” from prominent Tech Forums and Publications.
TimesTech: What are the driving factors behind TVS Electronics’ expansion into IT Infra Support Services, Solar, and EV segments, and how do you see the future trajectory of these services within the organization?
Mr. Srinivasan: At TVS Electronics, our strategic expansion into IT Infra Support Services, Solar, and EV segments has been powered by a multitude of factors. Foremost among them is our unwavering commitment to nurturing brand development, backed by the widespread adoption of our products and services across a spectrum of client segments. We have established partnerships with Fortune 500 companies spanning across various industrial verticals, as well as collaborations with multinational companies and leading India’s retail chains, have further strengthened our market position significantly.
As a part of green initiatives undertaken by Government of India, we have expanded into solar space and currently specialised in break-fix, operations, and maintenance services. Additionally, we also have offered our expertise in installing and maintaining EV charging stations for both public and private places as well.
