What does it take to create a new industry ? Ask Kunwer Sachdev-founder of Sukam how with Rs. 10,000 and an idea he created a 600 crore Sukam –the largest company in the power back up industry.

So how did he do it

Here are the critical steps

• Spot the opportunity
• Create the superior product that is clearly differentiated
• Create a distribution channel and brand
• Create waves of innovation blowing competitors

Spot the opportunity

In 1997, Kunwer bought an inverter for home usage, it’s quality was so poor that every second day it needed repairs and had to be fixed. Being a Manufacturer of parts for cable operators Kunwar possessed some knowledge of electronic and electric systems.

He realised that the inverter could not function properly as it was not designed properly. He smelt a huge opportunity as India is always short of power so every house is a prospective customer.

The power back up industry then consisted of small players, with low technology products which never used to work efficiently in the Indian power condition of extreme fluctuation and erratic supply.

Create the superior product that is clearly differentiated

Kunwer realized, he needed to create a customized product for Indian conditions. Most of the imported invertors did not work in Indian conditions. He realized, that to create a technology breakthrough he has to move out of the invertor/power back up industry. He hired people across the industries from digital products to even missile components manufacturing industry.

The technology was imported from abroad and customized for Indian condition resulting in superior performance while reducing the invertor size to one fourth the size thus reducing cost.

Create a distribution channel and brand

The newly designed inverter captured the market and then came the master stroke from Kunwer which turned the competitors into allies and partners. In every city, he offered distributorship to the small time inverter manufacturers and created a distribution network almost overnight.

Moving from the unorganized sector to an organized one came with a lot of challenges. The sales and service team needed to be trained. The dealers and the distributors needed to be trained on product attributes and customer service.

With minimal resources, Sukam could not afford the high cost of advertising, here also innovations took place. Every single Dhaba and tea shop had banners/boards of Sukam along with the name of the Dhabas making it a win-win proposition for the dhaba owners also.

Another innovation, was to book large number of classified ads resulting in covering the half page classified with Sukam advertisements instead of taking a half page advertisements. It turned out be cheaper giving almost the same visibility. Many newspapers were forced to change the classified booking policy because of him.

By creating waves of innovation Kunwar presented challenges to competitors

Sukam, focused on innovation realizing that the competitors will catch up on technology front. Every year there was a new innovation, a better improved product. He deliberately killed the older models even if they were successful as he wanted to drive the market rather than be driven by it. Contrast this with some of the existing businesses who do not want to disturb their existing successful products or brands. ?????

Kunwer’s guiding principle is” change the market before it changes you”.

Some of the innovations which Sukam used were / are :

Sine wave inverter

The earlier inverter ran on square wave which was not very safe for sensitive electrical appliances like computers, servers etc. The sine wave inverter technology was developed and tested in real life conditions in Kanpur and Meerut as they had the honour of having the extreme power fluctuations in absence of lab testing setup.

Plastic Body Inverter

Since the temperature during the usage went upto 120 degrees only metal could withstand such high temperatures. The plastic body had its advantage making the inverter lighter, visually appealing and shockproof. Kunwar approached GE and with the right kind of plastic made the world’s first plastic-body inverter. The plastic body inverter was not only unique in India but also first in the world.

Home UPS-

Kunwer combined the invertor and UPS benefit to create a Home UPS, The Home UPS worked like a inverter having the power back up of 2-3 hours from 10-15 minutes of traditional UPS.

The Home UPS also worked like a UPS with the switch over time of 0-5 milliseconds and delivering the pure powers thus suitable for any electrical equipment/appliances.

This also resulted in cost reduction as UPS was taxed at 4% while the inverter was taxed at 12 %.

Small portable inverter

Sukam realizing the market requirement of small shopkeepers/traders came out with a 250 VA inverter which can run one tubelight and one fan. Small shop keepers can use this small portable device in their shop/office during the day and can carry it home in the evening for charging or use it in the night. It costs mere Rs. 2000/- (Rs 4000/- with battery)

Patented software

Sukam created the patented software where the performance of large invertors can be monitored from a remote location.

They also created a software where the problems/faults in an inverter can be diagnosed without opening the inverter. Thus, rapid online correction and repair can be done without much trouble to the customers.

The path forward

You can upload and share your best ppts and win prizes.click here UPLOAD PPTS

Donate to kamyabology and encourage us to keep offering you the best in your effort to become kamyab.

Write the cheque in the name of Kamyabology a/c Sajagta Solutions and Services Pvt. Ltd. with the account no 00882000019313 written on the back of the cheque and drop it to any hdfc bank drop box.

Click here to forward this ppt link to your friend