The construction sector in India is currently on an upsurge and technology has a key role to play. As a technology company, Trimble Navigation India is eyeing the Indian CE sector and is expecting to grow faster even though it has entered the market quite late.
ExpertSpeak – Mr. Roshan Purohit, Regional Sales Manager, SAARC Region (Civil Engineering & Construction, Marine Division) – Trimble Navigation India, says: “Many of our businesses have reached a stage of critical mass. So we are focusing on customization. Currently we are working with many OEMs in India and we localize our solutions as per the Indian requirement.”
Trimble promises Indian CE sector a global product though is highly aware of the price consciousness of the Indian customer. Mr. Bruce Warner, Regional Manager, APAC – Trimble Loadrite, opines: “In India, technology adoption is comparatively slower than elsewhere and part of our job is to make customers here aware of its availability. It is time for us to consolidate on our strengths in India and establish ourselves well and then work towards deeper penetration of the market. Its heartwarming to see that Indian customers today want to truly understand and improve their processes.”
Customization is Key – Mr. Purohit explains how customization plans of Trimble are progressing in India, “Take fuel sensor in telematics. It is for monitoring and tracking the health and location of the machines and engine parameters to ensure that the machine is in a healthy condition. The fuel sensor also records the fuel consumption levels besides documenting the run time, and idle time as well. Now the fuel sensor tracking fuel consumption will have to be customized for different types of vehicles. We have done this for our customers here. Another example would be that for different machine types we work on different hydraulics. India has India-specific machines and hence they will require extensive customization, and Trimble is doing it. But it is a fact that the core technology does not change even if we perform small adaptations of it as required.”
Product Highlight – Earthworks is a solution by Trimble that is designed for excavators, and it was launched worldwide in mid-2017. Mr. Purohit explains: “It is an excavator gear control system on an android-based platform. With this we can have semi-automated excavators where the operator can perform complex jobs with ease.” He was quick to assure that this feature is not meant to exclude or replace any workforce but work with the operator. Earthworks is useful in any horizontal construction like when constructing roads or in mining too. He shares: “We are working towards increased adoption of Earthworks among our customers. We are targeting one per cent adoption in the next 12 to 18 months and we are working with a couple of specialized dealers for this specific product.”
Challenge – In a price sensitive market like India, selling an expensive but a brilliant solution like Earthworks is a challenge because the investment must justify the returns on it. Mr. Purohit agrees: “Here customers generally look for local examples and we are working towards that. The advantage we are banking on is that this is an end-to-end solution that pans all the stages like planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance because that is where the ROI is established.”
With customization as its key strategy, Trimble Navigation India is all set to make waves in the CE sector in the near future.