Gerber appoints ICICI Infotech as exclusive distributor

Rahul Neel Mani / New Delhi

Keeping in mind the rapidly expanding Indian apparel market, ICICI Infotech and Gerber Technology have signed an agreement whereby ICICI Infotech would be the exclusive distributor for Gerber’s WebPDM product lifecycle solution in India. Under the agreement, ICICI Infotech will market WebPDM along with its existing range of technology solutions for the apparel industry.

With the lifting of trade quotas expected in 2005, Indian companies are seeking to improve their competitive position in the global arena. The current Indian apparel market has huge potential and both the export and domestic markets stand at $6 billion each. “India is fast becoming a global destination in the field of apparel. For any industry to maintain and grow its advantage, players need to find a competitive edge over others. We understand that if Indian manufacturers are to compete on an international platform, their future needs to be based on technology,” said Manoj Kunkalienkar, executive director and president, ICICI Infotech. Keeping this trend in mind, both Gerber and ICICI Infotech have entered into this partnership. “Gerber and ICICI Infotech have developed a suite of products using industry best practices and quality standards; they deliver a faster return on investment through a guaranteed rapid implementation process developed by us,” said Kunkalienkar.

Off late, apparel product designing work is also moving to India. And both ICICI Infotech and Gerber are aiming at creating a niche in this space by offering their solutions. Today, ICICI Infotech is targeting companies having a minimum workforce of 200. “In the first year we are not focusing heavily on revenue generation from this product, rather we are looking at creating a relationship with customers,” said Kunkalienkar. The company in its first year of business will not be targeting more that four to six customers in India and then further growth will come from new references and performance analysis of the product.

Commenting on the solution, Bob Vallender, regional director, Southwest Asia & Africa, Gerber Technology said, “WebPDM enables manufacturers to communicate flawlessly with retailers, factories and the entire product development team to keep track of all the details related to a product, thus reducing product development time, improving quality and saving money.” With the addition of WebPDM, ICICI Infotech now provides a complete solution for all product data management and supply chain management needs. Other ICICI offerings in the apparel product suite include product tracking, line planning and quality-audit. Although ICICI Infotech had been focusing on the overseas market since its inception, over the past one-and-half years the company has started targeting the Indian market as well.