Wipro ePeripherals forays into the services business

Akhtar Pasha/Bangalore

Prakash says the service business will specifically target SMEs and professionals wanting to cut costs

Wipro ePeripherals (WeP), the Rs 240 crore subsidiary of the IT giant, has forayed into the services business armed with a new service called WeP Print & Save, targeted at Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs). The company expects to earn 10 percent of its revenues from the services business in the next three years.

SMEs opting for this service need not have to invest in a printer nor its consumables. Instead they pay only for the pages they print, a tab on which is kept by a counter built on top of the printer. SMEs with a print load of 30 pages and more per day, can opt for this service and depending on their needs, WeP will suggest the type of printer they will require. “The concept has been introduced with the intention of freeing customers from the headaches related to printer purchase, product obsolescence, toner costs and maintenance. It also helps customers measure printing cost of their offices,” says S Raghavendra Prakash, general manager-marketing, new products, Wipro ePeripherals. He adds that price per page will depend on the volume of pages. Higher the volume, lower will be the rate. WeP will collect re-fundable deposit ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on the print load of users.

Prakash adds, “Our main target audience will be SMEs, cybercafes, professionals such as lawyers, Chartered Accountants and start-up firms that have small printing needs who want to reduce capital investment and lower printing costs. We have a network of 180 service providers across the country who would be providing complete customer support service including free replacement of consumables.”

WeP has acquired a wide range customers from different verticals in the recent past who are using this scheme. Some of the leading companies from the software, pharma and banking industry that have signed up for the service include Zee Network, Wipro Technologies and IDBI Bank. In the manufacturing segment, it has bagged four contracts from Fouress Corporation and Triveni Enterprises. In the garment segment, it has signed up five contracts with Coats India while in the pharma segment it has Pfizer and St Marks Hotel from the hotel segment.

Currently, the print and save service supports only the laser and line matrix printer category with the offering limited to Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. WeP plans to soon extend this services to other parts of the country through its 240 channel partners.