MARKET REPORT Voice & Data Distribution
“We see a massive drive among distributors to differentiate their product offering by introducing new value
additions to both their partners and endusers”
Will Morey, Director and Co-Founder, Pragma Distribution
not pretend to be anything
other than what it is – an
e ective way for generating new
business. It’s worked well for us
for more than 15 years. It has,
frankly, been a surprise to us
that other channel companies
that have been doing little more
than buying products in volume
and shipping them on at a
small margin (also a very simple
model of course, but one that
adds little real value), have not
started to change their approach
sooner. For some, it might
be too late. I strongly suspect
that we will see a few of them
disappear in 2020.
Will Morey at Pragma says
that in addition to considering
the range of products on
o er, or the logistics, reseller
partners should consider the
level of support o ered by their
distribution partners.
“ e time it takes them to
introduce new solutions to
meet consumer needs, pro t
opportunities, commitment
to the channel, the support
provided on the technical,
sales and marketing fronts and
their dedication to making
the partnership a collaborative
experience where resellers get
a say in the product strategy
and new product development.
It’s also important to evaluate
whether there is vendorreseller
competition with that
distributor.
Distributor-reseller
partnerships shouldn’t be onesided
or merely transactional.
Reseller partners need to look for
mutually bene cial partnerships
where they are constantly
engaged.”
“ ere are some basic
fundamentals resellers need
to consider such as around
logistics capabilities,” says Tom
Maxwell at Nimans.
“Many say they can deliver
next day but how reliable are
they? Do they have stock and
ful lment? Can they do white
label and drop-ship multiple
orders? Can orders be placed
until 6.30pm and most of all
can they help resellers grow
through credit terms and
leasing opportunities?
Serving the customer has
been our mantra since Nimans
was formed in the early eighties.
We are here to help resellers
grow their businesses. If they
grow then we grow too.”
“One key thing to remember
is that it’s not always about
price,” says Darren Garland,
Managing Director of ProVu.
“Instead, partners need to
think about the value of the
whole service in delivering
an end-to-end solution. We’d
advise partners to look for a
distributor who can add value
to your business not just in
the products they supply, but
also in the services they provide
around them. Before selecting
a distribution partner, it’s
important to be con dent that
they understand your business,
if your distributor understands
what it is you are trying to
achieve, they will be more likely
to develop the services you
require and ultimately support
the growth of your company.”
ED SAYS…
The role of the distributor is changing, some
would say slowly but we would say that
distributors are essentially keeping pace with
the channel at the very least. Many resellers
were early and big time adopters of cloud
based services and many are still earning
a living from selling predominantly CPE
products.
technologies, and new cross-sell
opportunities to help partners
make the transition from being a
supplier to a strategic partner to
their customers.”
Hanspeter Eiselt at Nuvias
says that from AI to DevOps,
the trend is to inject intelligence
and automation and integrate
processes and tools to enable
business e ciency.
“ e Nuvias portfolio is
certainly being shaped with
these trends in mind. From
AI-enabled Wi-Fi with Mist,
to SaaS with Riverbed and
software-de ned networks
integrating security with Versa,
the Nuvias portfolio looks for
leading-edge vendors whose
technology can be integrated
into a composite business
solution.”
Tom Maxwell says that
Nimans portfolio is always
changing.
“ ere are new products and
new trends continually coming
to market and we like to lead
from the front, based on four
decades of industry expertise.
e cloud is playing a much
more prominent role and the
architecture of the solution has
radically changed. End points
need to re ect this and diversify
too. We evolve with the market,
John Carter of DMSL
drive change and encourage
adoption of complementary
technologies or alternative
technologies that can deliver the
same overall solution.”
What should partners
consider before going with a
particular distributor?
John Carter, Managing
Director at DMSL says the
only question a reseller needs
to consider when they decide
whether to work with a
distributor is: ‘Can they help
me do good business?’
“ e longer version would
be ‘Can they help me win deals
and make a pro t? And deliver
what my customer actually
wants, so that they are happy
and will keep them coming
back to us in the future?’
How involved the distributor
becomes in deals depends on
a number of factors – the kind
of service or solution being
delivered; the skills that the
reseller has; and how much
support the customer will need
during the installation and on
an on-going basis. But most
distributors can’t really do very
much or any of that.
at’s real value for a reseller
as it leads to them doing real
business. It’s simple and does
26 | Comms Business Magazine | January 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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