All India ICT Channel Association Conclave organized by PCAIT

Conclave addressed issues related to competition and challenges faced by ICT Channels from online e-tailers and way forward

For the first time, channel partners from across India gathered to discuss a very real threat-e-tailing. Progressive Channels Association of Information Technology (PCAIT), organized an ‘All India Channel Conclave' in New Delhi. The conclave, which had sessions in the afternoon and evening, saw huge participation from associations across India. Of late, the market has seen the emergence of e-commerce, which is offering the customers products at a much discounted rate, affecting the business of channel partners and the trend is growing at an enormous rate.

Alok Gupta, president, PCAIT, commenting on the relevance of the conclave stated that "Over the years there has been a tremendous growth in the number of online retailers operating in India. However, there is an urgent need to pay attention to the practices deployed by such portals when it comes to procurement and selling of products at rates which are way below the market rates. The conclave is an attempt to address this disparity and make the market a level playing field for ICT channel partners. "

The conclave featured various presentations from members across the regions, focusing on related topics. Some key speakers at the conclave included B Hari, president, CIITA (East), Champak Gurjar, president, FITAM (West), Karthikeyan S, president, SIITA (South) and Prasanto K Roy, member, PCAIT. " It's time to unite against challenges," said Champaklal Gurjar whereas Thomas, president, AKITDA highlighted a very interesting point, " Online portals are made not to sell in Kerala."

Shedding more light on the objective of the conclave, Saket Kapur, General Secretary PCAIT (North) opined " ICT Channel Conclave is a step towards identifying and addressing the issues being faced by the channel retailers from the online platforms. Being true to the theme of our conclave which was- ‘Growth with Unity' we understand that online is an important mode of doing business, hence we encourage our members to take their business online and explore new growth avenues".