With Thailand’s security scene increasingly competitive due to an inundation of Chinese products, distributors there find themselves increasingly moving towards value-added distribution. One example is Bangkok OA Coms. The company has decades of history and has been Samsung’s exclusive distributor in Thailand for al
With Thailand's security scene increasingly competitive due to an inundation of Chinese products, distributors there find themselves increasingly moving towards value-added distribution. One example is Bangkok OA Coms.
The company has decades of history and has been Samsung's exclusive distributor in Thailand for almost 30 years. Increasingly, the company is subject to increasing competition in the Thai market, which now sees an influx of Chinese products offered at low prices.
“It's getting tougher because you're getting more players. You need to fight price competition and we see more and more products from China,” said Arnon Kulawongvanich, GM of Sales and Marketing at Bangkok OA Coms. “It's tough for people who still want to compete on price. In the competition, they will die anyway because there is no margin to survive.”
As a result, Bangkok OA Coms, like many of its peers in the Thai security business, has transitioned to value-added distribution to give more to customers. “The distribution business is quite hard if you don't have any value added,” said Kulawongvanich.
One way to provide value is to offer solutions, not single products, to customers, especially integrators whose customers have specific needs and demands. “Value-added is something that other SIs in Thailand are also trying to do as they customize and add some unique features to make specializations for the Thai market. But some products they cannot just purchase from international vendors and implement. For video surveillance maybe they can, but for other systems like access control, VMS or visitor management, they need some modifications,” Kulawongvanich said.
He cited as an example his experience in dealing with 7-Eleven stores in Thailand. “They basically used analog systems before, and they want to upgrade to the IP. We thought of those requirements. If we only let the SI do that, they don't have access to the products … and do not answer 7-Eleven's problems and demands. So 7-Eleven wants to talk directly to the brands who can help them modify products and add more features,” he said. “We provide the solutions and then let our partner SIs and dealers install the project.”
Another way to provide value is to diversify products and brands carried to suit different types of customers. “We are not just a distributor anymore. About two years ago we became a solution hub provider, meaning we are selling and distributing more products,” he said. “Now we not only have cameras, but we also have software like NUUO as well as Digifort from Brazil. We also have EMC and Promise from Taiwan, Seagate drives, and access control. We are a partner of EntryPass from Malaysia and a distributor of HID and Suprema from Korea and Honeywell PA system. We have many products.”
As for the future of the Thai market, Kulawongvanich believes that security will see a wider range of applications, doing more than just protecting lives and assets. Smart retail is one example. “They're thinking to use video recording systems for marketing purposes – people counting, heat maps to see how people behave in stores,” he said. “We also see a trend in city surveillance and smart city initiatives.”