How hybrid strategies can help

When I coined the term Super VAR, little did I realise how far the phrase would travel (my colleagues across the pond have just learnt of it). Is it a VAR who, due to its size, has massive buying power and credibility? Or is it a hybrid company, running both a reseller and distributor strategy? And more important, if both are Super VARs, which strategy is more successful?

In truth, Super VARs can be both breeds of company, but the success of the firms’ strategies will depend entirely on how each company decides to run its operations and meet its customers’ expectations.

The list of Super VARs in the channel grows on an almost monthly basis, with the latest being reseller AT Communications’ (ATC) acquisition of distributor Rocom. This week, Rocom’s chief executive, Richard Carter, has defended the combined firm’s decision to operate a hybrid strategy. He claimed that following the acquisition Rocom will be able to operate entirely through resellers, passing any leads it has onto its ATC VAR arm. Furthermore, Carter and ATC chief executive Alex Tupman insisted that Rocom will operate as a separate entity. But are they being overly defensive about the strategy?

Yet, despite the heavy handed criticism and numerous examples of a hybrid strategy struggling to take hold, this does not make it an unsound or unworkable approach. Far from it.

If expectations are made apparent and carefully managed, a dual strategy can be a roaring success. Resellers and end-users need to be aware of exactly what happens to their sales leads, IT systems, supply chain and numerous other aspects of their business when they agree to work with a hybrid firm. As long as these and other contractual terms are managed, then expectations can be met.

From a reseller point of view, hybrids can actually help them. They act as a one-stop shop, supplying both products and services that the VAR may be unable to provide on its own. And filling out one contract with a supplier for credit, products, distribution and services is likely to save any reseller valuable time and money.