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Its
Focus on Education
guide
highlighted upcoming technologies
and areas of opportunity for
resellers in the education sector,
contained information on the tools
and resources available from Tech
Data, as well as special propositions
and offers from leading vendors
including Acer, APC, Cisco, Ergotron,
HP Enterprise, HP Inc, Microsoft,
NETGEAR, Polaroid and Targus.
Significantly, Tech Data also provided
additional credit lines. In mid-June, it made
£150 million of extra funding available
to over 4,000 of its customers and saw
exceptional uptake by resellers taking full
advantage of the extra flexibility to drive
sales and business growth.
Cathi Low, Director of SMB and Public
Sector at Tech Data, said that uptake
from resellers of the credit lines has been
exceptional. “We’ve been thrilled that our
customers have responded so positively. A
very large proportion of them have made
use of the additional credit available. It’s
clearly making it easier for them to do
business and fuelling significant growth for
the channel. It’s an excellent outcome.”
The company grew its SMB sales by
20 per cent year-on-year that month and
believes that growth has been boosted
significantly as a result of the increased
credit lines.
Extended payment terms
In addition, during July, when 50 per cent
or more of verified orders from education
are made up of products sold by Maverick,
its specialist audio visual business, Tech
Data offered extended payment terms
until September to resellers targeting
the education sector with audio visual
solutions. The extra credit, designed to
help education-focused partners manage
the longer payment cycles that are
typical in the public sector, was applied
to the accounts of frequent customers
automatically, giving them the flexibility to
do more business and drive growth with
both existing and new customers.
The company said it was doing
everything it could to help resellers
maximise their business potential and drive
sales growth during the peak period. Public
Sector Marketing Manager Kirsty Guy said
that the additional credit facilities have had
a significant and very positive impact.
Blackburn-based reseller, Nybble is one
company that has benefited. Managing
Director Ram Gupta said the additional
credit facilities had made a real difference.
“It is a very positive move and really
helped us. Having the extra credit gives us
much more flexibility and is a real enabler
for our business. It means we can go into
customers with confidence, knowing that
we can finance the business and have been
able to accept orders that we otherwise
might have had to turn down,” he said.
Only a few days after being given the
extended credit facility, Nybble took an
order for 40 laptops and two charging
trolleys from a local primary school worth
more than £45,000. Gupta said that
the extra credit and extended payment
period made the deal financially viable.
The company was also discussing the
replacement of servers with the school.
Managing cashflow
The extended facilities are also helping
Nybble to manage cashflow. “At busy
times of the year you can very quickly
find yourself stretched, especially if you
have been increasing your spending to
finance new business and payments from
customers do not come in as expected.
Having the extra credit just makes it easier
for us to manage that and plan ahead,
Tech Data helps drive
sales and business growth
so it’s been positive for us in a number of
ways,” Gupta added.
In his view, Tech Data has set a
benchmark in the UK channel. “I believe
Tech Data has sent a clear message
with this initiative - namely that they
understand the needs of smaller businesses
and that they are ‘the distributor of choice'
for SMB resellers,” adding: “What they
have done is a game changer.”
Vendors have also been pleased with
the results. According to Andy Bass, SMB
and Channel Director from the UK and
Ireland at Lenovo: “This is a really great
initiative that has helped many Lenovo
resellers to do more business right away
- not only in education but also in the
commercial space.”
He added: “We applaud Tech Data for
taking this bold step and making such a
positive commitment to supporting partner
growth.”
Tech Data provides a range of services
that build value for resellers selling to the
education sector, including a dedicated
Public Sector microsite, a virtual classroom
that enables resellers to explore the
different options and technologies
available to customers (a white-label
version of this is also available), special
education pricing and discounts from
over 30 vendors. It runs regular Tendering
Workshops that enable resellers to learn
how to navigate the procurement process
and develop their education business.
We applaud
Tech Data for
taking this
bold step and
making such
a positive
commitment
to supporting
partner
growth
The distributor launched an extensive education-specific programme to support reseller
business development over the peak summertime buying period
Kirsty Guy,
Public Sector
Marketing Manager,
Tech Data
