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The Winners Of The Acid Test

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DQC News Bureau
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They are the channel champions. They are the crusaders of the channel cause. The winners of the DQCI Channels' Choice Awards are a breed apart for they have felt the pulse of their partners and worked to their fullest satisfaction.

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The Winners

 

Gold 

Silver

Incentive Programs HP  Intel
Markting Supports HP Intel
Warranty Support HP Samsung
Training Support HP



Intel
Microsoft
Innovative Product Launches Intel  HP
Technology Advancement Intel HP
Distribution Tech Pacific Redington
Channel Champion HP Intel

When DQCI disclosed to the winners that they have been voted by channel partners to the DQCI Channels' Choice Gold and Silver Awards, there was thrill, disbelief and "you have done it" feeling emanating from pride and satisfaction. 

The feeling of contentment experienced by the winners is something very natural because they have proved to be the winners of the acid test. They have been voted to the awards by the channel and not by end-users. The winners of the DQCI Channels Choice Awards have proved themselves that they are the best in the marketplace when it comes to doing business with their partners. 

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Vision for channels

Only a well-defined channel vision that is pursued with a missionary zeal can bring accolades to vendors and distributors from their partners. If HP has walked away with the Channel Champion Gold Award in lieu of winning four golds and two silver awards in various categories (see 'The Winners' on page 20), it is because the organization has implemented a clear-cut vision for its partners. 

HP's execution of its strong vision has been done with a passion, helping it to carry along its partners to profits and prosperity. Says Ravi Aggarwal, VP, HP, "Our vision for channels has been to have a long-lasting relationship and enable them to earn profits."

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Intel, which has bagged the Channel Champion Silver Award by winning three gold and two silver awards in different categories, has an appealing vision for its partners. For Intel, in the words of Avtar Saini, Director, South Asia, the channel is, "Our team out there".

Intel considers the channel as its arm to reach out to the end-user. It has strived to keep the channel at the forefront of technology, always supporting them with training and helping the channel to move up the value chain. 

Creating an offering based on time and place availability of products is the channel vision of Tech Pacific, which has won the DQCI Channels' Choice Gold Award for distribution network. Says Shailendra Gupta, MD, "Our vision is to enable our partners to do what they have set out to do themselves."

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Recognition for policy features

The DQCI Channels' Choice Awards have clearly indicated that vendors who follow a structured policy with channel-friendly features have got due recognition from their partners. For instance, if HP has bagged the maximum number of awards, it is because of its transparent policy towards its partners countrywide. The channel very clearly knows that whatever HP does, it does it openly for every partner without discrimination. This approach of HP has earned it unmatched credibility among its partners. 

HP recognizes that its partners invest their resources, skills and time to market its products. HP does not want these investments to go in vain. The company takes it as its mission to ensure returns to partners on these investments. 

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The fact that HP swept away the golds in all the market-related categories, namely, incentive programs, marketing, warranty and training support, shows that the company has been successful in its mission. Says Ashwini Aggarwal, Channel Marketing Manager, "We add a fifth 'P' to marketing which stands for 'Painless'. Our efforts are to make it painless for our partners to do business with us as well as end-users."

The problem of pain does not arise when partners are well trained and know the products that they market. The channel has recognized both HP and Intel for training them well by voting them equally and awarding them both a gold each, while Microsoft has won the silver for training support. 

Creation of 'partnership equity'

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HP has created 'partnership equity' by investing heavily in training its partners. It hires consultants who charge a fortune for their programs to trains its category-I partners. Says Ashwini, "We have made training affordable for our partners."

HP drives its training in a very structured manner. Its regional managers are given a target to have skilled manpower among its partners. Sylvan Prometric certification courses are conducted for partners without charging them for the same. 

Intel, on the other hand, gives prominence to create channel-specific training material that can be easily grasped and understood by them. It conducted the successful "Build Your Own…" series training sessions on subjects such as servers, e-business, and, data centers. These had a high degree of acceptance among channel partners.

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The bi-annual Intel Channel Conferences have seen a high amount of attendance by partners where Intel provides its roadmap on products and technologies. Says Amar Babu, GM-Channels, South Asia, "The focus of our training is to keep the partners at the forefront of technology." 

Strategic differences

If certain vendors or distributors have been able to win the DQCI Channels' Choice Awards, and others could not, one of the primary reasons is that the former's approach to channels has been found to be strategically different from the latter. Points out Shailendra of Tech Pacific, "The difference between Tech Pacific and other distributors is that we do what our partners want, and others follow what we do!" 

Perhaps there is an element of one-upmanship in what Shailendra is saying. But what cannot be denied is that Tech Pacific has emerged as the undisputed No 1 IT distributor in the country with 4000 different products sold through 4000 resellers across the country handled with 25 branch offices and 17 warehouses. 

This network is now supported by a website where 800 resellers do online transactions. "We are still struggling with payment issues since RBI clearance is required for the same," points out

Shailendra.

Redington, the winner of the DQCI Channels' Choice Silver Award for distribution network, has been able to build strong relationships with its partners based on confidence and mutual trust. Says Jitendra Kulkarni, CEO, "Redington is the only distributor which has developed independent channel network in India whereas other distributors have either inherited channel from the parent company or started business with channels developed by others." 

In the case of HP, the strategic difference that it holds over other vendors is the infrastructure that the company has built over the years to support the channel. HP also takes pride in the financial support that it provides to its partners in terms of easy credit policies and back-end incentives. 

Intel's packaging of products has been strategically different from its competitors. Says Avtar, "We move technology as fast as we can and bring products to the market as soon as we can, in a package that channels find easy to do business with." 

The channel has found a clear differentiater in Samsung's warranty policy, which it has recognized by awarding it the DQCIÂ

Channels' Choice Silver Award for warranty support. Samsung gives two to three years warranty on its monitors, three-year warranty on HDDs against the one-year warranty of other vendors, and one-year each warranty on printers and optical disc  Â

drives. The replacement is carried out through Samsung's service partners.  

For Microsoft, which has won the DQCI Channels' Choice Silver Award for training support, channel is the prime vehicle

for  doing business, rather than residual. Microsoft's channel philosophy consists of three 'E's. The company believes in 'equal' Â

partnerships, 'empowering' the channel with regular imparting of skills/training to move up the value chain, and 'engaging' with customers at every level. 

Position of strength

Intel has made a name for itself by introducing microprocessors that are the result of cutting-edge technology, which is the major strength of Intel. Channel has recognized this strength and has awarded two golds, one each for innovative product launches and technology advancement. 

The gold for product launch came in the wake of launching of Pentium 4, which was well appreciated by the channel. The award for technology advancement has come to Intel for its speed with which it introduces new microprocessors in the market. 

The technology bandwidth of HP is again a major strength which the channel has recognized by awarding a silver each for innovative product launches and technology advancement. Ashwini says that these awards have come to HP because its research labs develop products keeping in mind the demands of the channel as well as end-users. 

The other strength of HP is that it has never pushes for exclusive relationships with its partners. In fact, the company encourages its partners to go for multi-brands. Opines Ravi, "This arrangement works to our advantage because we usually emerge as the most preferred vendor by both, our partners as well as end-users."

The sheer economies of scale have worked in favor of Tech Pacific whose strength lies in the right mix of value and volume of products that it can offer to its partners. Financial discipline too has contributed to the success of Tech Pacific while doing business with the channel.

Redington extends credit based on the needs of every reseller for all product lines. Resellers get credit for same number of days irrespective of the timing of their purchase. This helps partners to plan their business better. The company works from a position of complete transparency and therefore resellers feel confident that they are working with a company that is fair in its dealing.

The next move 

The winners of the DQCI Channels' Choice Awards are a contented lot but they would not like to rest on their laurels. The victors would like to march right ahead building on their strengths and look for newer avenues to keep their partners happy and satisfied. 

Ravi of HP would like to have "more feet on the ground" to build greater number of partner relationships leading

to wider interaction with the channels. He would like to implement further improvements in the quality and standards of service. 

HP is having a close look at the cost structures, which it finds higher at its end and lower at the channel's end. The company would like to leverage on the lower costs at the partners' end and provide greater back-end incentives.

Intel wants to move faster in the market with its newer products. Says Avtar, "We wish we could provide more complex and comprehensive solutions to our partners who in turn can offer them to end-users." Intel wants to quickly shift to e-business solutions and it wants its partners too to make those quick moves in the same direction.

Tech Pacific currently lacks the flexibility that the product-specific, focused distributors have in their business operations. Shailendra would like to adopt this agility to give every distributor in the country a run for their money. 

Milestones ahead

The dynamism among award winners is very apparent. They want go from strength to strength in their business dealings with channel partners. HP, for instance, has a clear goal that it wants to remain the No 1 vendor with the channel in every market segment.

Intel wants to make Pentium 4 as the mainstream processor by the middle of the year. Major efforts are being planned and energies will be spent to make the channel ready to accept the change from P-III to P-4.

Tech Pacific wants to take its channel up the value chain. It wants its partners selling PCs to graduate to become systems integrators (SI). Shailendra of Tech Pacific sees huge potential for partners in SI business because according to him only half a dozen SIs cater to the very large SI market today. 

From Microsoft, partners can expect the launch of Whistler set of products during the course of year. The company is working at implementing its .NET vision with the release of every new product.

All in all, award winners want to provide excitement to their partners in the coming year, be it through products, technology or skill enhancement. Innovative schemes and promotions are also in the pipeline because the victors want nothing but a win-win situation for themselves and their partners.

Sylvester Lobo in Delhi and Mumbai

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