DEALER PROFILE - Defining moments in channel strategies
Company founded 1991
Company headcount 78
Board members David Freer, managing director; Chris Wilson, commercial director; Andrew Travers, sales director; Andrew Freer, technical director
Company year end 31 March
Last year's turnover #16 million
And profit #700,000
Reseller base Egham, Surrey
Recent acquisitions Reseller Integrated Options, acquired in July
Main lines sold Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Microsoft, Lotus, Novell, Cisco, Bay, Shiva, Ascend, Citrix, Security Dynamics, IBM, Hewlett Packard
Main accreditation held Compaq systems reseller, Dell Var, IBM dealer, Hewlett Packard authorised reseller, Toshiba authorised reseller, Microsoft solution provider, Novell gold reseller, Lotus business partner, Citrix gold partner, Secure Var.
Key accounts First National Bank, Taylor Woodrow, Consolidated Financial Insurance
Main distributors Metrologie, ETC, Computer 2000
Main competitors Computacenter, BSG, Compel, Euro Data
Thing to watch in the next 12 months My prediction is virtual private networks. I think companies will have to move into this area to improve network security.
Why? Security is a problem. At the moment, this technology is a relatively new concept. But virtual private networks, along with products such as smart cards, will get cheaper and so increase in popularity.
What is your biggest bone of contention at the moment? Manufacturers have got to clearly define their channel strategy, be it direct or indirect.
Many claim to be using the channel, but regularly make noises which indicate the opposite.
What would make life easier from a business point of view? Manufacturers only unveiling products when they become available, not before. Also, improving our cashflow through the universal problem of getting customers to pay up on time.
What is the role of distributors? We still use them - in fact, with the exception of Toshiba, we buy all our products through distributors.
At the moment, the distribution sector is mainly viewed as the manufacturers' logistics arm. In my opinion, it doesn't actually add any significant value onto our sale to the customer.
What are the advantages for dealers? Resellers still need distributors - they are necessary for giving increased access to extensive stock holdings from multiple vendors and sources. If a Var buys kit direct from the vendor, there's no opportunity to use other manufacturers.
How do you view the Compaq acquisition of Digital? I think it can only be good news for resellers like ourselves. The main benefit will be the access to a wider range of products, for example, maybe Alpha processors in Compaq servers?
In addition, the probable integration of Digital's maintenance operation, which is excellent, being implemented across the Compaq range.
Comment on production at the Fujitsu semiconductor plant in County Durham ceasing from 4 September (PC Dealer, 9 September) As long as manufacturers can still obtain chips at the required time, there should not be too much of a problem for the channel in general.
However, the closure could affect resellers through pricing. Because the cost of the chip normally determines the price of the whole machine, we could see a knock-on effect which forces up overall pricing. But this would benefit resellers by providing them with higher margins on kit.
What is your opinion on Asda starting to sell PCs? (PC Dealer, 9 September) It's only going to affect high street retailers. If customers want to include a computer when doing their weekly shop, it's fine by me. It won't affect our market as we cater to a completely different customer.