 The two top concerns on the CIO’s mind during the desktop purchase process
are the product itself, and post-sales support. The key concerns for the CIO,
when thinking about product features, are product reliability and overall
product performance, followed by ease of integration with existing setup and
warranty/replacement schemes.
The overall satisfaction delivered by most desktop vendors lies within a very
thin range indicating what in cliched industrywallah jargon is, very tough
competition.
HCL’s scores on both of the top two parameters—product features and
post-sales support—rate above the average industry expectations. So it comes
across as no surprise that HCL tops the tally this year, but only just. Close on
HCL’s heels is another Indian PC vendor, Wipro. The HP-Compaq combine takes
the third position. Last year they featured as different brands but a combined
average of their scores would have placed them at an identical position.
|
The Desktop
Scorecard
|
| |
2003 |
2004 |
| HCL |
4 |
1 |
| Wipro |
2 |
2 |
| HP-Compaq |
3 |
3 |
| Zenith |
NA |
4
|
| Assembled |
5 |
5 |
| IBM |
1 |
6 |
| Dell |
NA |
7 |
What really swings the scores in HCL and Wipro’s favour are their
consistent scores in the pre-sales and marketing, and the delivery and
installation parameters, where they either match or beat industry expectations.
IBM too fares much below the average expectation of a CIO.
But the one obvious question that needs to be addressed is the reason for IBM’s
fall from grace. From the No. 1 last year to sixth this year. Last year, IBM
volumes jumped substantially and with after-sales support and service outsourced
to third party service providers, IBM’s direct control over the quality of
service is lower, especially in upcountry markets. A quick look at the numbers
tell a similar story. IBM’s relative performance in after-sales support is
lower in comparison to the industry expectation, while as far as pre-sales and
marketing goes, IBM’s relative performance is higher.
| How
the Brands Fared |
| Parameters |
Industry |
HCL |
Wipro |
HP–Compaq |
Zenith |
Assembled |
IBM |
Dell |
| Product
(100) |
80 |
81.2 |
80.4 |
81.3 |
78.9 |
77.4 |
80 |
78.4 |
| Post
sales support (88) |
76.3 |
76.7 |
76.4 |
76.6 |
76.8 |
77.5 |
74.6 |
74.9 |
| Pre
sales and marketing (77) |
77.7 |
79.3 |
79.1 |
79.3 |
78.1 |
75.7 |
78.6 |
75.2 |
| Delivery
and installation (73) |
77.1 |
77.1 |
79 |
78.1 |
77.6 |
79.2 |
75.7 |
76 |
| Price
and commercial (58) |
76.4 |
79.1 |
77.9 |
76.2 |
75.9 |
78.5 |
74.5 |
74.3 |
| Note: The table
indicates the overall satisfaction scores of the desktop vendors on
the listed parameters. Base: 533 |
| The
parameters have been ranked according to the order of importance and the
red numbers in the brackets indicate relative importance. |
| The
figures in blue are for the vendors with the highest satisfaction scores
for that particular parameter. |
|
With the customer’s expectation about level of service is much higher with
premium brands like IBM and, therefore, a small deviation in standards stands
amplified. Couple this with their growing installed base, its fall was
inevitable. However, this brings, wrapped beneath its wings, an opportunity for
IBM to engage these customers in service recovery.
| Desktops:
How CIOs Rate the Vendors |
| |
Industry |
HCL |
Wipro |
HP–Compaq |
Zenith |
Assembled |
IBM |
Dell |
| Product |
| Product
reliability |
4.1 |
4.2 |
4.1 |
4.1 |
4.2 |
4.1 |
4 |
3.9 |
| Product
performance |
4 |
4.1 |
4 |
4 |
4.1 |
4 |
4 |
3.9 |
| Ease
of integration with |
4 |
3.9 |
4.1 |
3.9 |
4 |
3.9 |
3.9 |
3.9 |
| Warranty
and replacement |
4 |
4 |
3.9 |
4.1 |
4.1 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
4 |
| Post
sales support |
| Responsiveness |
3.9 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
4 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
4 |
| Availability
of spares |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.6 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
| Interaction
with service team |
3.8 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
3.7 |
3.9 |
| Time
to resolve problems |
3.8 |
3.7 |
3.6 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
3.7 |
3.7 |
3.8 |
| Dataquest-IDC
India: Customer Satisfaction Audit 2004 |
| The
satisfaction scores are on a five-point scale with five being the highest—very
satisfied. Base:533 |
| The
sub parameters have been ranked in decreasing order of relative importance
and HCL’s above average scores in the key sub parameters help it achieve
an above average score in the overall product category |
| 
Special Issues 
