Acer Africa (Pty) Limited
Acer Africa, one of South Africa's largest PC vendors, is a subsidiary of the $6,8-billion Singapore-based Acer Computer International (ACI), a member of the giant multinational Acer Incorporated of Taiwan.
A global company, Acer Inc. has facilities in 38 countries and is the world's third largest PC manufacturer and is a leading global supplier of desktops, notebooks and servers.
Acer manufactures a complete range of products including the AcerPower™ business desktop systems, the AcerAltos™ range of servers, the AcerTravelMate™ range of light yet powerful notebooks, the Aspire range of Multimedia PC systems, AcerView™ monitors and Acer DATA Projectors.
Acer Africa assembles, imports and distributes Acer fileservers, workstations, desktop and notebook PCs and multimedia systems via an extensive dealer network in Southern and sub-equatorial Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.
The company's sales volumes see Acer as the leading international brand in the local workstation and monitor markets, third largest supplier of PC LAN Servers, and ranked among the top selling international notebook brands in South Africa.
Acer is also making significant inroads into the home and multimedia markets in this country with the Aspire range of "easy to use" products.
As a result, Acer Africa has an important position within ACI, holding some 10% of the company's markets which include regions such as Asia Pacific, the Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Acer Africa's success can be attributed to:
- the company's philosophy of building on the global Acer brand's inherent qualities with innovative marketing strategies;
- careful positioning;
- unswerving loyalty to its customers; and
- providing value to both the dealer channel and users through excellent carry-in and on-site warranties, fast and reliable configuration facilities, lifetime technical support and aggressive pricing strategies.
The company was a leader in the burgeoning trend to "build-to-order", and refined this concept with its innovative "Configure-to-Go" service which offers the optimum in hardware specification and software preloading to customers' exacting requirements.
Always a leader in the provision of value-added services, Acer Africa has also introduced a solution designed specifically for resellers working in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. SME BUSINESS Solution incorporates a complete hardware solution consisting of a file server, workstations, cabling, hubs, installation, ISP and software and technical support – thereby streamlining installation and reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Now, in a further move to assist the dealer channel, Acer Africa is rolling out a sophisticated business-to-business e-commerce initiative which will enable its channel partners to order on-line and then track and trace their orders from the Internet to their doors.
An enlarged, centralised toll-free call centre offering fast, efficient service and accurate information to all customers, complements the e-commerce initiative.
Acer fresh technology
Acer is structured to provide users with the "freshest" PC products by supplying proven new technologies to markets throughout the world as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.
Fresh implies more than "new" because immature technologies can be expensive. Fresh technology means products which have a longer life, are available at a lower cost and therefore offer more value for money.
In order to achieve this, Acer's manufacturing and assembly facilities are close to the markets they serve - including those in Africa.
Acer's Midrand-based Head Office complex is the site of the company's uniload assembly facility and configuration plant, which meets stringent international quality standards.
The uniload facility assembles all Acer desktop PC systems for distribution to sub-Equatorial Africa and Indian Ocean islands; handles the configuration and final quality control on Acer servers using a specially developed NT-based factory diagnostic tool; and deals with quality control and specific configurations of notebook PCs.
The facility has the capacity to product over 300 units a day.
Acer ships modular PC components to Acer in Africa for standardised assembly in the Uniload facility. CPUs, hard drives and memory cards are delivered by air to meet local user requirements.
This, combined with a state-of-the-art procurement and logistics system, allows Acer Africa to maintain low inventories of high-priced components, which are susceptible to declining prices and obsolescence and assures end-users of the latest technology at competitive prices.
Throughout Acer Africa's markets, there is significant demand for information technology to support economic growth at both government and private enterprise levels. Acer is committed to meeting this demand through the delivery of products offering superior price/performance value.
This includes computers and computer-related peripherals which have consistently won international acclaim for their outstanding technological features.
Peripheral products include colour monitors, keyboards, CD-ROM drives and data projectors, the majority of which are sourced from the strong design and production base of the Acer Group.
Another focus point for Acer is the 'downsizing trend' in offices with networks of ‘thin client' workstations, desktop PC and servers replacing host-based mainframe/mini computer systems. Growth in the utilisation of Internet and intranet technology for business communication is also driving demand for these products. Acer's product line for office systems continues to gain market share, with Acer ranked among the world's top five server PC vendors. The company also recently introduced a ‘thin client' workstation.
Quality
Because Acer makes almost all PC components itself and doesn't have to rely on a network of diverse OEMs, it is in a unique position to assure users of a uniformity of quality. As an integral part of the global Acer Group, Acer Africa has direct access to Acer's international network of technical expertise and information.
Quality and highly responsive technical service is a top priority for Acer.
The entire Acer Africa organisation, including every branch and assembly line complies with the stringent ISO 9002 quality requirements. In fact, the Midrand facility received a special commendation from independent ISO 9002 auditors during its most recent inspection this year.
This enables Acer to confidently offer a three-year warranty on all its products. In addition, in line with its commitment to customer service, reduced total cost of ownership and maximum uptime – Acer Africa has launched a one-year on-site warranty for its complete range of PC desktops and server products.
Significant enhancements to the AcerCare service has resulted a 48 hour-turnaround on 90% of products brought into AcerCare centres for repair. Acer Africa also offers a XpressCare service for carry-in, over-the-counter repairs – a service which has proved immensely popular with notebook PC users.
In addition, Acer maintains a full range service and training network under the "AcerCare" label in order to improve service and support for Acer users throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.
The AcerCare programme is based on training courses developed by Acer in Taiwan but modified to meet the specific needs of Acer distributors in Africa and dealers in South Africa.
It is designed to enable African distributors to deal effectively with technical queries and repairs in their own countries, while South African dealers are empowered to deal with basic technical queries and upgrade their ability to handle installations, thereby improving their service to end-users.
Africa
Acer Africa has made significant inroads into Africa, and is now represented in 17 countries outside South Africa, including Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia as well as the Indian Ocean islands.
Acer is now the top-selling brand in eight of those countries.
Acer recognises that while budgets are limited in many countries, Africa cannot be regarded as a dumping ground for inferior, outdated technologies. In some regions, there's an enormous depth of knowledge about information technology and a keen desire for the latest, state-of-the-art, quality equipment.
With each African country having its own business culture and technology requirements, Acer Africa - with its Uniload facilities and understanding of African conditions - is well placed to extend and expand Acer's penetration into the continent.