Konica Minolta’s PrintXpress Resumes Nationwide Tour

Dec 21, 2023 | Uncategorized

Reviving the campaign that brought cutting-edge technology to the hinterland of India, Konica Minolta successfully commenced a fresh leg of the PrintXpress – Innovation in Print on 11^th December 2023. This endeavour will take Konica Minolta to 93+ new cities, across Tier-2, 3, and 4 locations, to understand what the technology and strategy gaps are, in the daily operations of these print businesses that require revision and network support. The unique roadshow aims to garner an attendance of potential small to medium print businesses, across an area of over 25 thousand kilometres.

Focused to create business touchpoints across geographies, there are 2 campaign buses, will travel all 4 regions of India, catering to both direct channel and indirect channels, in collaboration with partners KMI and Technova. Outfitted with Production Print Engines, the campaign will showcase live demonstrations to the visitors to experience the benefits and explore new business opportunities with Colour – AccurioPrint C4065 and the Monochrome – AccurioPrint 2100.

The PrintXpress Roadshow is designed to merge the network of small print businesses with Konica Minolta’s dependable print solutions. Integrated with samples on display, the campaign buses have embarked on separate routes across the country to display the products’ functionality in the avenues of Digital printing and Print-on-demand, to both prospective and current clients, across towns such as Rohtak, Gorakhpur, Siliguri, Nasik, and Barpeta.

Commenting on the beginning of PrintXpress, Mr. Katsuhisa Asari, Managing Director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., said, “As leading print solutions provider, we are highly aware that printing businesses and in-house print departments are expected to produce impeccable print products within the shortest of deadlines, with changing user expectations. This is why, we understand the value of bringing in sturdy construction, high performance, and smart inline finishing options to small and burgeoning print businesses in India. With this new edition of the PrintXpress campaign, we want to democratize streamlined workflow processes, to a wide array of print businesses, creative agencies, book publishers, and commercial printers residing in the cities and towns”. 

Continuing the milestone of Konica Minolta’s 150-year anniversary, the PrintXpress campaign is an extension to early 2023’s “PrintXpress – Innovation in Print” Campaign that covered 150+ Cities, reporting an in-person attendance from 3000 customers, over the course of 5 months, covered a notable 48000+ kms.

Swiggy partners with Simpl; Now Bangalore customers can order with 1 Click

Dec 21, 2023 | Uncategorized

Ahead of the year-end celebrations, Simpl – India’s foremost Checkout Network – today announced a partnership with Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, to offer a 1-tap Checkout experience to millions of its customers across food delivery, Swiggy instamart, and soon on Dineout, and Swiggy Genie. The partnership assumes significance as the demand for Swiggy’s on-demand services increases multifold during the holiday season led by Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations. This, coupled with five weekends in December, is going to contribute to a significant increase in demand for services from food and hyperlocal delivery companies.

With this partnership, millions of customers across the country will be able to place orders from over 2.9 lakh restaurant partners enabled on Swiggy, and access thousands of products from Swiggy instamart while availing of other services from Swiggy with the convenience of Simpl’s 1-Tap.

Commenting on the partnership, Nitya Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Simpl, said, “An increasing number of customers today are seeking convenience while transacting online with food and hyperlocal delivery sectors among their top choices. As these services are also availed multiple times in a day, it necessitates the need for a quick and convenient checkout to enhance customer experience. Simpl, as a customer-focused organisation, has been the preferred choice of millions of customers and this partnership with Swiggy is intended to bring greater convenience and trust to our combined customer base in the upcoming holiday season. It will also help strengthen our presence in this space where convenience is becoming a real differentiator”.

Currently, several large enterprises and emerging Direct-to-Customer (D2C) merchants in the food and hyperlocal delivery space offer Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout to millions of their customers across the country. Over the last two years alone, Simpl has witnessed a 75% growth in transactions for food and beverages, and hyperlocal categories, accompanied by a 48% increase in transacting users.

Anurag Panganamamula, Vice President of Revenue and Growth at Swiggy said, “Our mission is to offer unparalleled convenience and an elevated experience to our customers across the platform – from search to checkout and delivery. With Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout integrated into our platform, especially ahead of the holiday season, millions of customers across the country will be able to access their food, and home needs, and dine out seamlessly” 

Today, Simpl is the preferred checkout partner for over 26,000 small, medium and large enterprises and D2C merchants across the country who make use Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout and its Checkout solutions to bring trust and convenience for millions of their customers.

VISTARA STRENGTHENS INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY FROM MUMBAI

Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, will boost international connectivity from Mumbai by increasing frequencies to two popular international destinations – London Heathrow and Singapore. The airline will increase the flight frequency between Mumbai and London Heathrow, from 4x weekly to daily flights, starting 1 March 2024. Additionally, Vistara will introduce a second daily flight between Mumbai and Singapore from 1 February 2024, using its A321neo aircraft. Vistara also operates daily flights between Delhi and London Heathrow, and flies daily to Singapore from Delhi and 6x weekly from Pune. Bookings for the flights are open on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents.

Vistara connects Mumbai to a total of 14 international destinations, including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Colombo, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Jeddah, London Heathrow, Male, Mauritius, Muscat, and Singapore.

SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN MUMBAI AND SINGAPORE

EFFECTIVE 01 FEBRUARY 2024

SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN MUMBAI AND LONDON HEATHROW

EFFECTIVE 01 MARCH 2024

Vistara accepts all eligible customers meeting visa/entry requirements in both countries, as specified by the respective government bodies. Vistara strongly encourages its customers to fully understand these guidelines before making their bookings.

Vistara is India’s highest-rated airline on Skytrax and TripAdvisor, and it has been the winner of several ‘Best Airline’ awards, besides being lauded for world-class cabin cleanliness and upholding high safety standards. The only Indian carrier to feature amongst World’s Top 20 Airlines, Vistara has been named ‘16th Best Airline’ globally while also being recognised as the ‘Best Airline in India and South Asia’ for the third time in a row, ‘Best Airline Staff in India and South Asia’ for the fifth consecutive year, ‘Best Cabin Crew in India and South Asia’ for the third time in a row and ‘Best Business Class Airline in India and South Asia’ for the second time in a row at the coveted World Airline Awards 2023 by Skytrax. Vistara also received the ch-aviation Asia’s Third Youngest Airline Fleet award for the second consecutive year.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Launches

Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited (ABSLAMC), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited and investment manager for Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, has launched the UPI AutoPay feature for SIP payments by investors. The UPI AutoPay option, facilitated by NPCI, enables an investor to start an SIP using UPI Autopay in just “one click”.

With the UPI AutoPay feature, an existing or new investor can create e-mandates using any UPI application, allowing for hassle-free management of recurring payments. A predefined SIP amount will be automatically debited from the investor’s bank account on the specified date of the month post registration.

UPI AutoPay is a safe and user-friendly method for recurring payments. It allows real-time registration of payment mandates instantly and facilitates easy and immediate transactions. As it is a paperless process, it eliminates the need for documentation and paperwork. It also ensures SIP payments are not missed and removes the need for setting up reminders.

List Of Banks And Apps Live On AutoPay (npci.org.in)

Mr. A. Balasubramanian, CEO and MD of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said, “The UPI AutoPay option is a significant leap towards simplifying and securing the investment process. This innovation not only enhances the convenience of recurring payments but also reinforces our commitment to providing our investors with cutting-edge financial solutions. This initiative aligns with the mutual fund industry’s move towards digitization, marking a significant advancement in the way investors manage their SIPs. Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund remains committed to delivering innovative solutions that cater to the evolving needs of our valued investors.”

Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

NetApp recognises innovation-driven partners at NetApp Xcelerate

Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized

NetApp^® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, recently hosted Xcelerate 2023, a summit to celebrate the strength of their channel partner network. Over the course of the three-day event, held in Udaipur between 14^th and 16^th December, NetApp leaders and channel partners converged to discuss strategies for finding opportunities amidst disruption, and driving 2X growth.

During the summit, NetApp leaders shared with the company’s partners and distributors their vision for unlocking scale and agility in the cloud, the importance of value-added distribution in an evolving channel landscape, the critical role of partnerships, and more. In addition, outstanding partners were awarded for their significant contributions in delivering innovative cloud experiences, propelling revenue growth, and unlocking substantial business value for their customers throughout the previous fiscal year. The Partner of the Year award was bagged by Binary Global Ltd., while Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. took home the title of Distribution Excellence.

Speaking at the summit, Ganesan Arumugam, Director, Channel Sales, NetApp India said, “In an ever-evolving tech landscape, our partners play a pivotal role in enabling customers to keep pace with the latest advancements. Xcelerate 2023 provides a platform to celebrate their achievements, while highlighting our vision for their continued growth and success. In a world where intelligent data infrastructure is a key driver of change within organisations, we are confident that our partners will continue to shine and help deliver innovative solutions to customers.”

Speaking about the recognition as Partner of the Year, Mr. Sukhvinder Dhingra, Director, Binary Global Ltd., said, “We’re deeply honored by the recognition at NetApp Xcelerate. We are committed to delivering cutting-edge cloud experiences driving substantial business value and NetApp has been a key enabler. This recognition inspires us to keep innovating.”

Over the past year, NetApp has made several advancements to its partner program- Partner Sphere. This program revolutionises the company’s partner engagement model through innovative enablement programs. In addition, NetApp partners are now equipped with 11 service-certified tracks and 19 solution competencies covering flash, cloud, customer services, and various service models. As a result, their capabilities have expanded beyond merely supplying products, to delivering implementation, deployment, and managed services.

The list of winners include:  

UPI transactions witnesses 118% rise at retail stores in 2023: PayNearby Report

Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized

Assisted e-commerce (meta commerce) grows by 91% in semi urban and rural retail counters

• PayNearby releases detailed analysis on ‘assisted digital transactions’ FY23, in its third Pan-India report titled – Retail-O-Nomics
• Insurance policy purchase and insurance premium collection saw a massive 150% growth in transaction and 140% in customer adoption
• PAN Card issuance services have seen a steep growth of 437%
• During PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi fund release, cash withdrawal on an average grew by 36% as compared to the rest of the year
• Amongst credit products, personal loan and gold loan, saw good adoption at the last mile, crossing seven-figure mark in disbursements within few months of launch
• Bill payments service at local stores witnessed an increase of 74% in value and 39% in volume

Bengaluru, 20th December, 2023: PayNearby, India’s largest branchless banking and digital network, today released data report ‘Retail-O-Nomics’. It highlights Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions saw a 118% and 106% increase in volume and value respectively at semi-urban and rural stores, representing the growing adoption of UPI beyond Tier II regions in the country. In addition, mPOS (Mobile Point of Sale) acceptance too witnessed a growth of 5% in value, emphasising the increasing adoption of cutting-edge technology among small merchants.

Insurance policy purchases and premium collections surged by 150% in transaction volume and 140% in new customer adoption, underlining the role of digital retail stores in addressing the challenges of insurance penetration in Bharat, and their gradual evolution into multi-utility centres for citizens.

The insights are part of the third edition of the Pan-India report titled ‘Retail-O-Nomics’ released by PayNearby. The report has been prepared based on transactions conducted across a million-plus PayNearby retail touchpoints, consisting of kirana stores, mobile recharge stores, medical shops, customer service points (CSPs), travel agents, etc. throughout the country. The findings compare business data from January to November 2023 with the same period in the year 2022.

As per the report, the nationwide new registered retailer count increased by 9%, underscoring the eagerness of the retail community to participate in India’s growth story by facilitating assisted financial and digital transactions at nearby stores. Overall, transactions grew by 10% both in volume and value. The transactions include not only banking and financial services, but also digital services like utility payment, cash collection, credit, insurance, assisted commerce and more, indicating a significant behavioral shift among consumers in these regions towards assisted digital methods for their banking and lifestyle needs, contributing to their integration into the formal economy.

In 2023, Micro ATM and AePS cash withdrawals, pivotal for rural and semi-urban digital counters (retail stores), fell short of expected growth. However, MATM device demand remained robust, marking a 17% surge in purchases compared to last year. Although transaction volume decreased, the average cash withdrawal per transaction grew slightly from ₹2595 in 2022 to ₹2624 in 2023. Notably, AePS withdrawals surged consistently by 30-40% during DBT releases, notably during PM Kisan Yojana credits, as compared with the rest of the year.

The report also highlights a staggering 65% surge in cash collection at retail counters, reflecting soaring demand for credit and financial solutions nationwide. With an average monthly collection of ₹1,700 crores, the company witnessed heightened demand across various processes, including a remarkable 25% surge in EMI collections for NBFCs, MFIs, and Small Finance Banks. This uptick in EMI collections signifies a rising awareness and interest in credit and financial offerings at the grassroots level. Additionally, positive growth in subscriptions for OTTs, online education, and online gaming underlines a latent demand for digital services, indicating Bharat’s growing affinity towards digital products.

Amongst credit products, business, personal, and gold loans gained rapid traction, surpassing a seven-figure mark in loan disbursement. Impressively, 21% of applicants were new to credit (NTC), reflecting a growing trend. The average age of 28-30 highlights a dynamic, youthful entrepreneurial base. These loans, catering to SMEs’ working capital and individual lifestyle upgrades, underscore the urgent need for scalable, affordable credit solutions for India’s unhindered progress.

The assisted e-commerce segment, meta-commerce emerged as another significant highlight this year, with a network of ~40,000 retailers actively engaged in providing e-commerce services.  Particularly noteworthy is the substantial traction of the Branded Shop category, featuring top brands across consumer electronics, mobile accessories, kitchen appliances and more. Popular categories in the ecommerce portfolio include grocery, grooming, toys, and healthcare products. The average ticket size in the branded shop category was ₹3,184, while for the rest of the ecommerce portfolio, it was ₹1,586.

FY 2023 saw a surge in re-banking at retail counters, opening 175,000 new current and savings accounts. The report highlights a robust 202% growth in account balances compared to last year.

Commenting on the report findings, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, said, “Embracing rural India’s pulse, Retail-O-Nomics depicts a narrative where hinterlands not only keep pace with urban areas but actively integrate into the formal economy. The surge in GTV results from not only the growth in traditional banking and ATM services but also the adoption of products like UPI and MPOS, NTC credit solutions, insurance, e-commerce and more. Despite this, there’s still a huge untapped market needing the right product, pricing, and distribution for easier adoption. This report aims to catalyse dialogues and implement measures for widespread financial and digital service accessibility, especially in Tier II and beyond. Committed to this vision, we empower retailers and consumers through user-friendly solutions, focusing on technology simplification and democratization via our Distribution-as-a-Service network.

A case in point is the introduction of assisted ecommerce in our network. With this service, rural aspirational customers are getting the choicest products at a nearby store, retailers are seeing enhanced income, and e-commerce partners are not only reaching new markets, but seeing reduced returns rates, optimizing overall business costs. In fact, return rates through meta commerce are nearly 1/3^rd of the standard return rate witnessed by B2C ecommerce platforms, highlighting the significant role played by human interventions at retail counters in the overall consumer experience.”

Bill payments spiked by 74% in value and 39% in volume, while mobile recharge grew by 3%. Assisted Income Tax Return (ITR) services rose by 4%. Travel bookings maintained an 8% growth in flights and 6% in rail bookings during festivals. New PAN Card issuance and corrections skyrocketed by 437%. Notably, 41% of banking transactions occurred from 3.00 pm to 9.00 pm, highlighting retail outlets’ crucial role in meeting banking and digital needs, especially within the PayNearby network.