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| “We listen to
our end users” |
Christian
Knoll, Trimble Navigation India Pvt Ltd on
challenges of Indian market
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| Tell us about Trimble India |
Trimble
Navigation India Pvt Ltd is a 100% subsidiary of Trimble
Navigation Ltd, USA. The India office was established
at the end of 2005 and was officially opened on 16,
May 2006. It is an important extension of Trimble’s
presence in India and the Asia Pacific region. Our objective
is to better service our customers and distribution
network to assist in the modernization drive taking
place in the country. |
| What
is the focus of Trimble’s Engineering & Construction
roup? |
| Trimble’s
Engineering and Construction Group focuses on the development
of technology and solutions in the core areas of surveying,
construction and network infrastructure. We offer integrated
positioning solutions and systems that are used from
concept to completion to streamline jobs and improve
productivity. |
| What factors do you keep
in mind when launching a product? |
We listen to our end users, so that we can develop
solutions that fit their
needs. With this in mind, Trimble creates products
that are designed to be accurate and easy-to-use.
Each new product also works seamlessly with other
Trimble products, so that our customers can employ
our complete Integrated Surveying solution to improve
productivity on the job site.
Additionally, when launching new products, Trimble
is committed to educating and training our distributors
and end users, to ensure that end user benefits and
correct operation are maximized. The positive feedback
we receive after each event indicates that this method
of product introduction is extremely well received
by all involved.
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| How is Trimble different? |
Trimble
offers complete solutions for the Engineering and Construction
industry—hardware, software and services—not
just products. With our in-depth market understanding,
and personnel with industry expertise, we develop unique
and innovative solutions specific to each market segment
we serve. |
| What
opportunities and challenges do you see in the India
market? |
The opportunities
and challenges offered by the India market are not entirely
unique. Similar opportunities are shared by other emerging
markets, and a global opportunity is therefore arising.
Lessons learned in the exciting India region can be
leveraged across other emerging markets, and can influence
Trimble management practices. |
| The developing world is
a price-sensitive market. Comments? |
Price is an important
factor in developing markets. However, success in these
regions is not about lowering price.
Indian customers are extremely value conscious, so our
approach involves understanding and managing the price-performance
relationship as well as clearly explaining return on
their investment. |
| How do you approach an evolving
market like India? |
Emerging markets such as India
allow us to challenge conventional wisdom when it
comes to strategy. For example, distribution systems
are critical in India. In fact, innovations in distribution
are as critical as product and process innovations.
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There
is a perception that vendors oversell instead of educating.
Comments? |
Many of our customers
are firsttime users, so Trimble products are easy to
use and have a short learning curve. As mentioned earlier,
Trimble invests significantly in educating customers
on the use and benefits of our products and services. |
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| june
2006 |
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Christian Knoll,
Country Manager Trimble Navigation India Pvt Ltd.,
prior to this he was posted at the Trimble European
Headquarters in Frankfurt from 2002 – 2006,
responsible for European OEM Sales.
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He
graduated from University in Munich, Germany,
with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business
Administration.
He received further Management Education from
IIM-Ahmedabad and has successfully launched MNC’s
in India before joining Trimble.
christian_knoll@trimble.com |
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