Zebra Technologies, a barcode and label printing solutions provider, hopes to tap new opportunities emerging from socio-economic reforms under way in India. Sachin Tare, Head – Indian Subcontinent, Zebra Technologies Corporation, discusses the company’s strategy to connect with tier 2 and 3 customers. By Heena Jhingan
The growth of RFID and smart cards technologies in India is quite disparate. A large part of the business opportunity lies with the enterprises and the government. How do to plan to tap this opportunity ?
Smart cards are gaining popularity in various segments of the industry. The basic reason behind the popularity of smart cards is ‘transaction tracking’ which has become the need of the hour.
The Government of India has recognized this global trend and is endorsing a large number of public projects involving the use of smart cards, biometrics and RFID technologies. Current on-going schemes include the National ID and Driving Liscence and Vehicle Registration drive. Projects related to e-passport, public distribution systems and other programmes related to financial inclusion, health insurance, aviation and security will continue to leverage the latest smart card technologies.
Apart from this, there are several other sectors that hold great potential for us to grow. These include schools and colleges for student IDs and registration, staff IDs, library records, exam entries, network log-ins, club memberships, cashless campuses. Retail outlets have adopted staff IDs, cash register log-ins, driver IDs, loyalty cards, accounts cards, gift cards, etc. The Banking and Finance vertical has also adopted bureau printing, instant personalization of customer cards, micro-banking, e-passbooks, etc. We see ample room to evolve and innovate in all these avenues.
What has been the response to your existing products in the Indian market and what is new in the offing?
Early this year we announced the launch of the GC420, GT800 and EZ320 desktop and mobile printers, which are designed exclusively for the unique requirements of the Asian markets. Offering geo-centric features based on inputs from customers in Asia, the printers provide businesses with greater visibility and control to compete in the global marketplace.
These solutions provide the Asian businesses, across various verticals, including transport and logistics, manufacturing and retail, the much needed visibility into their global operations throughout their warehouses, local facilities and the supply chain.
We also announced the release of the ZT200 printer series, a new line of printers intended for light industrial and commercial applications. The new series offers advanced printer integration capabilities and complete device management.
Mobile is becoming critical to all technologies today. What is your strategy around mobility?
We have added a new mobile printer – EZ320 in our portfolio, making it a comprehensive portfolio, right from entry level mobile printer for basic application of receipt printing to a high-end application of field labelling application. We intend to apply a two-fold strategy. We are focused at leveraging our channels and educating them about the mobility application, they will then communicate with their set of customers. By these means, we will not only be able to educate the current set of partners, but this will also help us increase our geographical reach to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. We will educate partners in these cities too. We believe that communicating directly with the customers is equally important, especially in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
What are some of your recent mergers and acquisitions and how do you plan to leverage them?
Zebra has acquired LaserBand LLC. With a patented self-laminating design, LaserBand LLC is a leader in laser printed patient identification wristbands and related products. The company has developed a full suite of wristband solutions and ancillary products which are used by hospitals more than 200 million times per year to improve both patient safety and workflow.
Healthcare organisations worldwide are increasingly embracing technology to improve patient safety and comply with regulatory mandates. Barcoding and wristband technology are integral components of electronic health record (EHR) protocol. With the acquisition of LaserBand, Zebra is providing hospitals more choices in barcoded wristbands to address their unique technology needs to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance. We expect the acquisition to play an integral role in our goal of providing superior, cost effective solutions to enable patient safety, efficient workflow and optimal outcomes for healthcare providers.
The LaserBand product line augments our thermal wristband offerings. The flexibility of choice between laser and thermal wristbands puts Zebra in a strong position to help hospitals meet their EHR and patient-safety goals regardless of their technology preference or budgetary constraints.
