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Seven Seas Computers has secured distributorship for five countries. Which of these countries are the main contributors in your sales and how many resellers do you currently have for FingerTec® products in your region? |
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UAE and Saudi Arabia are the main contributors overall in terms of FingerTec® business. We are active and operational through channel partners in other countries and we do hope that we can balance the sales out by 2008. In total we have about 25 active resellers in the Middle East and 2 sub-distributors in Saudi Arabia.
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In which of the countries you are still looking for resellers? |
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We are inviting resellers from Oman and Qatar. |
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How do you do reseller selection? |
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We do have certain criteria, which we have adapted to appointing resellers. After initial discussion we find out more about the company and its activities and based on the information we prepare a reseller agreement, which is signed by both the parties. Under this agreement certain target and regions are specified with incentive schemes also available upon achieving the same. We do encourage all our resellers to buy the initial quantity as demo units upon signing the agreement. One of the basic requirements of this agreement is to have two trained engineers for installation and first level support. |
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What were the marketing activities that Seven Seas have done for FingerTec® and which one yielded the best results in terms of enquiries and sales? |
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We did a few marketing activities namely, Gitex Exhibition through a channel Partner, newspaper advertisements, sales promotions for resellers, internal sales incentives for employees, regular in-house sales and technical training for existing & new reseller. The response for sales was good on the newspaper advertisements and on the reseller sales promotions. |
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The statistics have shown that door access system is the bestseller model in the Middle East region. What contributes to the trend and why do you think time attendance system receives tepid response? |
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This region has one norm, which is they like having all the features in a single pack, and if it is offered at a competitive price with a very nominal difference from the time attendance models, this becomes the best buy for any user. And also to contribute is the absence of “flexi time” for office goers in this region, which elevates the concerns of employers to have the maximum control over their staff movement. |
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From your experience, what do you think is required from your market for door access and time attendance products? |
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The Middle East region and in particular, UAE is changing rapidly. Technology needs to be at its best to support such a dynamic environment. Hence certain innovative products in terms of functions and features, hardware adaptability, integration to security solution such as remote monitoring and CCTV could add advantage and can take the overall concept to a different level. Apart from this as per our previous experience the FingerTec® hardware needs to be more robust, some recurring problems in terms of connectivity. LCD etc; do raise customer concerns. |
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What is your opinion about TCMS V2 and how’s the acceptance of the software by your clients? |
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It’s definitely a very well tailored software, precisely to the point in terms of attendance and other reports. User-friendly approach makes the client more comfortable in terms of maneuvering the required data. |
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We at FingerTec® has produced all kinds of material to make things easy for our distributors such as video guide, Powerpoint presentation, manual in local language and support websites for you to utilize. How have these efforts helped you in marketing FingerTec® in your region? |
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To a great extent, this has proven to be useful at all levels of negotiations. |
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Seven Seas has done numerous installations of FingerTec® in the Middle East. Tell me the prominent clients so far you have in your portfolio. |
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The prominent clients so far include Al Dhafra Air Base – UAE Air Force, Dubai Investment Group, First Video Communication, APN tower, Weather Ford, ATN Media Fz LLC, Emirates Insurance, Star Food Industry, Emitac, Itqan, Baker Bott, Goodyear Middle East just to list a few. |
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Who are your biggest competitors in the region and what’s your strategy to beat them? |
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Biometrics products are the sought after system now and the competitions are fierce. However, our strategy till date has been simple. We focus on our products strength, which is TCMS V2, and back it up with our best possible support. |
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What are the major obstacles for you in selling biometrics in the Middle Eastern region? |
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So far so good. It’s been a hard earned business. And I personally believe that problems and obstacles do come but if you are able to service and support your channel promptly, the business will be more mutually beneficial and incremental. |
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What do you like about FingerTec Worldwide? |
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To us, FingerTec Worldwide has a well-informed and prompt team, with an edge of professionalism. The support, service and information flow has been the best part of the entire business cycle. It’s been 3 years of distributorship and still the level of energy within the FingerTec® team has been outstanding. Quick response to the queries and issues, have helped us in turn support our customers promptly. |
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What is your future plan for FingerTec?®? |
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The future looks good. The industry is ever changing and it is these dynamic natures we all have to adapt and adhere to be competitive at all levels and strengthens our business relations. |
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