Intel wins despite warranty issues
 In motherboards, Intel continues to rule both mindshare and marketshare. Yet the vendor was found lacking in service and support, especially in tier-3 and tier-4 cities which are increasingly becoming important for the PC components category. Asus was the surprise package of the survey, taking second position ahead of Gigabyte.
Asus, which had fallen off the channel radar due to service issues in 2007, staged a strong comeback by improving its warranty support and product availability. For this respondents gave credit to Asus’ primary distributor, Rashi Peripherals, which was signed on in the first half of 2008 to provide RMA support.
Gigabyte continues to be a steady performer, however in smaller cities it suffers from warranty delays.
MSI emerged as the value brand, mostly voted by channels, in tier-3 and tier4 cities due to its low MOP.
Price-performance
Intel rates higher in price-performance than any other brand in spite of selling at a premium of 15-20 percent compared to competitors. The next in line is Asus, followed by Gigabyte. While MSI is the lowest-priced brand, on the performance aspect it doesn’t enjoy a good perception among channels.
Product availability
Intel, due to its brand pull, is the most widely distributed. Intel is also quick in making available new and high-end models. Asus has increased its market coverage, although timely availability of products in tier-4 cities is still a problem. A few respondents we spoke to, from cities like Bhavnagar and Nellore, said that supplies of certain models of Asus are not easily available. Availability of Gigabyte products is weaker in eastern region. It also suffers from inconsistent supplies in tier-3 and tier-4 cities. MSI has low visibility and availability in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, and seems to be largely focused on tier-3 cities.
Marketing & branding
This is where Intel is a winner by a long margin. The company enjoys high brand awareness and pull, and that’s one reason why it continues to be sold widely. It is also the most aggressive in conducting local events and rolling out incentive schemes.
While Asus has a better customer pull than Gigabyte, it lacks in marketing and promotions. Gigabyte does more promotions and channel meets than its Taiwanese peer. Many sub-distributors polled said that Asus will do well if it were to get aggressive with channel incentive schemes.
Service & support
Asus’ warranty support was rated the best among peers with a streamlined RMA support aided by strong toll-free support managed by Rashi. Respondents also reported that dead-on-arrival and in-warranty failures, which were a matter of dispute in 2007, have reduced considerably.
While Gigabyte support was rated on par with Asus in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, respondents in smaller cities complained of comparatively more RMA issues and longer warranty turnaround time, putting it at the second spot.
On the other hand, Intel reported RMA issues and an increase in warranty turnaround, thus polling at number three on this important parameter. Perhaps that’s the reason why Intel decided to open walk-in service stations in many cities. A common complaint is that Intel’s toll-free service is not easily accessible.
Usually, in tier-1 cities, the turnaround for replacement expected by channels is 3-4 days, while in tier-2 cities it is 8-10 days, and in tier-3 cities it varies between 15-25 days.
MSI’s warranty support was rated poor compared to peers, with the highest turnaround time among the four.
Channel relationship
While Gigabyte and Asus have friendlier channel managers who frequently visit resellers and help to address their issues, Intel’s ground engagement lacks personal interface. However, Intel has a more structured channel interface, and holds meetings with resellers twice a year. Its technical training programs are also more frequent and comprehensive. It’s more prompt and regular in sending new product updates and price changes as compared to peers. While Intel takes a longer time to pay rebates to partners than Asus and Gigabyte, most respondents said that the process is smooth and structured. Also, Intel has the best price protection policy for its partners, and this was well appreciated in 2007 when wild dollar fluctuations became the order of the day. Asus was ranked ahead of Gigabyte on this parameter.
Winner in the Desktop Category in Channel Champions 2007
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