Defence Procurement: Who Is Really Your Customer?

Entering India’s defence sector is not as simple as saying, “the Army is my customer.” In the first episode of ‘Defence Procurement: A Practitioner’s Perspective’, Brigadier Narendra Pratap Singh (Retd) explains why companies and start-ups need to understand the military as a complex ecosystem of users, formations, headquarters, capability developers, trial authorities, procurement agencies and budget holders.

Using the example of a tactical drone, he shows how the same product can represent completely different capabilities to infantry, artillery, engineers and Special Forces.

More importantly, he explains why the person who uses a system may not be the person who defines the requirement, controls the budget, conducts the trials or signs the contract.

For companies entering India’s defence ecosystem, identifying who actually owns the problem — and who can ultimately say yes — is critical.

Coming up in Episode 2: Once you identify your customer, the next question is even more important: What is the military actually buying?

The answer may not be the technology at all.

The military buys operational effectiveness, not technology.

Watch the next episode to understand how companies should translate technology into an operational capability the military actually needs.