The Hindu Business Line : Capexil plans centre in US for members

CAPEXIL has planned a common infrastructure-cum-marketing service centre in the US for its exporter-members, under the ambit of the Market Access Intitiative (MAI) Scheme of the Commerce Ministry. The proposal is now awaiting Government approval.

The proposed Brand Promotion Infrastructural Centre (BPIC) would function as (a) common call centre facility; (b) promote selected Capexil-related products/brands in the US market through a common local representative; and (c) Act as logistics support centre for exporters, providing and maintaining a professionally managed `common warehouse' service in US for select exporters of the council.

India possesses a low market share in the $69-billion US market for Capexil products, indicating a huge potential for export growth.

Talking to Business Line here on the new programme, Mr S.K. Ray, Executive Director of the council, said the prime objective was to promote the `Made in India' label for Capexil products in US. Explaining the rationale behind the exercise, he said the US was the largest destination of merchandise trade in the world ($1,257.6 billion during 2000, as per latest WTO statistics), and ranked No.1 in world imports, accounting for 18 per cent of the world trade in merchandise, with an annual growth of 12 per cent. And, for export of Capexil products, both minerals and non-minerals, US ranked first with Rs 1,638 crore of exports in value terms annually, which was 11 per cent of Capexil's total basket, he pointed out.

The council accounts for total exports of over Rs 15,000 crore. He said the scheme has been designed to promote and establish at least 2-3 Indian brands every year and increase exports of Capexil products by Rs 200 crore every year in the US market.

Mr Ray said US was the biggest market for most of the Indian exporters dealing in items such as rubber manufactured products, natural stones, auto tyres and tubes, paper/paper products, Glassware, ceramics, paints and minerals, which are broadly the target groups for the marketing services support programme.

He said a market survey in select products for procuring different importers' databases in US dollar was already underway under the MAI scheme.

Asked to elaborate, he said the plan was to collect a target list of importers in the US as well as identify the best options on logistics support including warehouses. The support service centre with warehousing facility project would be launched based on these initial inputs, he clarified. The proposed centre, he felt, might also be able to cater to the adjacent Canadian and Mexican markets.

Describing brand promotion as a key function of the service centre scheme, Mr Ray said the programme would involve running a call centre, appointing and supervising a marketing representative in the US for the next 2 years, ensure that member-exporters are provided with a personalised marketing service in the competitive market, and providing sustained logistics support which would involve setting up of a warehouse facility.

Interaction/feedback from participating member-exporters on a proactive basis on the progress of the project would be looked after by a System Management Cell being set up. He said a periodic updating of the Capexil B-2-B portal, for smooth monitoring/supervision of the service centre scheme for the next three years would also be undertaken simultaneously.

He said the scheme was expected to create economies of scale in terms of infrastructure and brand building operating costs, creating a wider reach for Capexil member-exporters in the US market at affordable costs. We intend to create an effective common marketing platform for our products through better communication and control, he pointed out.

The estimated costs for the service centre-cum-warehouse project in the US, for sustained running over a three-year period, is placed at around Rs 9 crore, with the call centres and the marketing representative running costs alone consuming nearly Rs 7 crore.

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