How Mobility Transforms Engineers
Engr. Shaheryar Khalid, Manager Sales at
IMS Electric shares his experiences in an interview with ER

You opted for sales after obtaining a degree in engineering, what are the reasons to do it, and are you satisfied with your decision?
SK: Since there is no concept of R&D in Pakistan, engineers have limited areas to choose from like project side, testing, sales, quality, etc. In fact, I am fond of jobs connected with mobility. Therefore when I did my BE, I did not want to do anything static or dormant. I don’t like routine jobs and I believe it has never been challenging. Thank God, I opted sales side as every day appears to be challenging. Each and every day brought new things and new systems and of course, meeting new people. I was so motivated that I set my mind to moving ahead in this field.
ER: What are your job responsibilities and what products do you sell?
SK: IMS is a big group dealing in power turbines and machines etc. we are partners with BMS and then acquired Schneider, we have electric switch gears. We clubbed some products from the engineering side and connected them with switchgear.
ER: Engineering exhibitions are a permanent feature in Pakistan, what new products you have planned to exhibit in the next exhibition in the country?
SK: On the HVACR side, behind all airflows, we have motor-controlled systems. They are efficient and we offer them to the customers. We offer all motor center systems to our clients. The positive side of this system is that we have integrated our BMS system with the motor center system. In our system, all CCTV, firefighting systems are integrated with the BMS systems. The HVAC system is also its part. You can monitor it through the interface. This is something new that we are offering.
ER: The sales effort is aimed at targeting many stakeholders at a time in a company, which specific stakeholder do you target to sell your product?
SK: In the corporate world, the custodian is the most important person as he/she handles and operates that product. For instance, if we try to sell the electrical system, we need to persuade the people who operate, maintain and remain custodians of the systems in their industry. Of course, we do remain in touch with finance guys and also with the owners of the industry too. We always need to talk to the people at multiple levels right from custodians to the commercial side guys. After all the most significant are those who operate it and be with the system.
ER: Competitiveness is a major challenge as there are many companies that offer similar systems in the market and many are good ones. How do you {as a big company} compete in the market and what challenges do you face?
SK: In the industry, customers as well as suppliers are generally categorized and classified as a whole. Likewise, products are also classified as per their standards such as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. They all vary from one to another in terms of quality. It’s up to the customers which tier they choose. Since the market in Pakistan is so diversified, each and every kind of supplier does take its share in the market.
ER: While looking for a less expensive product is a norm in Pakistan, what makes you distinct that the buyer gets interested to buy your product?
SK: There are a few factors for sure. The factory that we own at the moment used to export switchgears. These switchgears are installed at many places in Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, etc even at their airports. We claim we have the best quality product. The added point is that all the products from the supply chain are the same that Schneider uses in its factories. We are its licensed partners. The copper that we use in the product is as same as Schneider uses. Thus, all the ingredients that we talk about are the same.
Then our after-sales services effort is efficient that we provide for the last two decades. They are well aware of our products and they know what kind of problems could hit and where. Over 90 percent of the problems are resolved online or through telephonic communications.
ER: There are many issues with our economy and they affect everything including supply chain. How do you assure your customer of the availability of the product that you commit?
SK: In our country, everyone knows what’s going on on these fronts. If any issues appear for example as regards LC or other matters and resultantly the delivery turns late, it’s not specific to one company only. We see people failing to fulfill on their commitments. But we are trained in a way that we always make commitments that we are sure to fulfill them. We share the details with the customer to maintain our credibility. We do not want a black spot on the company.
ER: You talked about your after-sales effort, would you like to share with us that you offer to the customer as regards after-sales?
SK: We have a 50-year journey of a credible and efficient company. Nearly 80 percent of our teams has transformed to be experts. We are serious about employee retention, they are our assets and thus, our teams, trained on new standards continue to grow. The experience of the team from Areeba to Schneider continues to be transferred, then IMS inherited that system that benefits ours after sales.n