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PITR:
Please could you explain a little
about Dell's channel strategy and
how it has developed.
McNally:
At Dell, we have various routes
to market. Our channel was developed
over five years ago, as we wanted to
expand our reach to customers. We found
that we were touching a number of
customers, but there were also a number
who wanted to deal with a local reseller or
even a nationwide reseller. Moving into the
channel was a very big thing at the time,
as Dell had been a direct organisation for
20 odd years. Now, it is commonplace that
we are recognised as a channel partner
and have won numerous awards for our
channel programme.
At the time, we developed the
Partner Direct Programme, and this has
evolved over the years. The Partner Direct
Programme is where Dell sells directly to a
partner, engages directly with that partner
and supplies and fulfils through them.
That's one of the routes to market.
We have also introduced a distribution
route to market, as not all resellers want
to buy directly from the manufacturer: they
might want to spread their credit lines or
need greater flexibility and prefer to work
with distribution partners. So over the last
two years we have started to develop our
distribution programme. We had a huge
conference this year in Greece where we
invited over 50 distribution partners from
across EMEA. That's evolving and we now
work with some recognised distributors in
the IT arena.
The other route to market is our Direct
organisation, which has been running for
over 25 years. That hasn't changed.
What has changed is our ability to
service the customer, to give the customer
a choice of where they buy their IT
equipment, whether that is from their local
reseller, via a distributor or directly from
Dell. We give them that choice.
To prevent channel conflict, we work
very closely with channel partners. Deal
registration is a good example. If a channel
partner is working on a deal and they
register that opportunity with us, we will
walk away from it, but offer that partner as
much assistance as they need to win it.
PITR:
How often have you walked
away due to a deal registration?
McNally:
It happens on a regular basis.
The deal registration programme is one
of the cornerstones of our Partner Direct
Programme.
PITR:
How many channel partners
does Dell have in the UK?
McNally:
We have over 1,000 partners in
the UK.
We have three different types of
partner. We have Registered Partners,
Preferred Partners and Premier Partners.
To become a Preferred or Premier Partner,
you have to hit certain thresholds and have
certain competencies in your business.
The Premier Partner is mainly intended
for enterprise solutions and has a higher
threshold so that they can fulfil enterprise-
type business.
As a print business, we wanted to
Ahead of Dell's autumn product launch at Munich's Oktoberfest,
PITR caught up with Dell Imaging EMEA product marketing director
Dave McNally to find out about the company’s channel strategy
A hub of activity
go out and work with the key resellers
that specifically just concentrate on
print. However, we found that they don't
necessarily fit into our Preferred and
Premier categories; they may not reach
the threshold of our enterprise business
or have the resources to go and win
enterprise-type opportunities. So in 2013
we developed a sub-set of our Partner
Direct Programme called the Strategic
Imaging Partner Programme for those
resellers that concentrate on print or have
a print division as part of their business.
This lets us identify them, nurture them and
work with them on a more personal basis.
The Strategic Imaging Partner
Programme has approximately 20 partners
signed up in the UK, and we are looking
for more partners to come on board.
They get a dedicated touch from Dell;
they get access to our marketing funds;
they get training; they get rebates; they get
a dedicated account manager. There are
things we provide a Strategic Partner over
and above what a registered partner can
expect.
We have also
introduced a
distribution
route to
market,
as not all
resellers want
to buy direct
from the
manufacturer.
continued...
Dave McNally, EMEA product
marketing director, Dell Imaging
