Business Head - B2B, LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd
As technology makes way into the banking sector, LG offers its display screens to banks making communications with customers easier and provide them services with ease. Hemendu Sinha , Business Head – B2B, LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd, talks about the crucial role it plays in the BFSI sector in an interaction with Akanki Sharma of Elets News Network (ENN)
How does LG connect itself with the Indian BFSI sector?
Business Head – B2B, LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd
The requirement of any financial organisation is to engage customers and provide them good services. These organisations look for a differentiated identity in terms of visibility and services offerings to attract more and more custom – ers. We have some specific products and solutions for the Banking and Finance sector, especially designed keeping in mind their requirements.
Of the various categories of products, display devices play a crucial role, as the customer-oriented information also need to be visually communicated to the customers. To this end, we have products based on leading display technology called In-plane Switching (IPS). LG is one of the pioneers in implementing the IPS technology. It is also a leader in display panels globally and a lot of investment goes into bringing out the most suitable products for the BFSI sector, business-to-business applications and viewers in general.
In addition to the banks displaying the desired infor – mation, they also have to appear transparent. This helps them generate confidence in their brand name among the masses. Our IPS-based display devices are the best in the world and a number of leading banks are using it for their unique features. For instance, ‘wide-view angle’ screens are quite popular for displaying objects and information at public places, as irrespective of the angle a person watches it from, the view remains the same. On the con – trary, in an LCD/ LED screen, the whole picture changes as the viewer changes angle. Further, IPS takes care of the blackening effect that could be an obstacle in clear viewing even with bright lights around.
How do you think the company has an edge over its rivals?
As the technology keeps evolving, we also keep on reinventing ourselves. Talking about the BFSI sector, operation and maintenance remain an important part of the solutions we deploy. Once a solution is deployed, maintaining its quality for a long time is a challenge. Furthermore, displays are no more dumb devices, since information can easily be fed to these through PCs, laptops or smart phones.
LG has provided an operating system to these display devices. Most of our products have an inbuilt operating system, called WebOs, a multi-task operating system for smart devices. This intelligent OS comprises a processor, memory device, storage facility, etc.
This is an advantage none of our competitors have as of now. For a banker, they can just buy the screen and get the entire solution with it.
In addition to it, if a bank wants to convey the message to a vast horizon simultaneously, it can be done in a centralised manner. We have screens which can work over networks and are solutions unto themselves.
Another edge we enjoy is that our products can be customised as per the requirements of individual banks. We have interactive screen solutions, which can come to life just with a touch. The bank can convey message to the customer and vice-versa via the screen only. Also, LG is one of the world’s largest display manufacturers and it has created the narrowest bezel screens which is less than 2mm thick.
What is LG’s revenue model for the BFSI vertical?
We work in distribution and system integration model. Banks might get solutions from different vendors, but in case they want a single screen solution, only we can provide that. We don’t get revenue directly from banks; rather it mostly comes through system integrators. Of course, we try telling banks why they must opt for the LG’s solutions, but the solution is finally rolled out by the system integrator in most cases.
LG’s electronic display products are developed on IPS-based technology, which is the best in the world and most of the leading banks prefer it
What are the challenges you face in marketing these solutions?
Decisions are relatively quicker in the banking sector as compared to other verticals. Like most businesses, banks also work on the Return on Investment (ROI) model. So, they need to be convinced that whatever they are investing into today, will fetch them good returns sooner than later. In today’s competitive market, it is a huge challenge.
Further, there is no uniformity in terms of what banks want these days. Although there are guidelines from the Government of India and RBI with regard to standards to be followed, beyond that banks use their discretion as per their specific requirements. So, meeting the varying requirements becomes difficult at times.
Which are the geographies that you have successfully penetrated into with your BFSI- targeted solutions?
LG is present in almost all the major banks across the country, but since most of the banks are headquartered in Mumbai, we have our largest presence in the West, followed by the South. Unfortunately, there are not many banking headquarters in the East and the North. However, we are present in all Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as well as private banks.
Do you have any plans to offer solutions to the proposed smart cities, too?
The interesting fact about smart cities is that one can always keep on adding elements to these. For instance, security is one of the important aspects, for which we have a surveillance solution. There would be requirement of screens everywhere, because that is how the information can be disseminated best. We have components, which are integral to any solution for a smart city. But incidentally, we don’t have any core solution. We have gadgets that need to be monitored and controlled, and it is done through software.
Also, for monitoring a safe city, large display boards are required and LG is a leader in the field. When it comes to watching something, it’s display boards that come to one’s mind, and when it comes to display boards, LG remains the leader.
How do you rate your revenue growth in the BFSI vertical?
Our internal survey on BFSI with reference to the display devices market says that we dominate the market with more than 35 per cent share
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