Partnership for success
Welcome to the first PC Dealer Advantage page, a regular feature which outlines the latest channel research, partnerships and programmes that we'll be offering to help you do better business.
PC Dealer's Advantage programme provides the most sophisticatede which outlines the latest channel research, partnerships and programmes that we'll be offering to help you do better business. marketing tool yet devised for the UK IT channel. And we have just started to develop it.
PC Dealer's Advantage programme means working together to achieve greater success. Membership of the Advantage programme entitles you to participate in reseller panels, obtain advance notice of industry events, open a real dialogue with the PC Dealer team and take part in the most comprehensive channel research ever carried out.
Opportunities for members of the programme will include focus groups, the chance to network with vendors and distributors and the provision of the best information you can find, backed by PC Dealer and its parent company, VNU Business Publications.
The channel is still the dominant route to market for the UK IT industry, so a deeper understanding of how the channel operates is crucial for the smooth working of every reseller's business. It is also a good way of countering the claims of the direct sellers that they are in the ascendancy. All the figures prove this is just not the case. The channel is still key to the delivery of products quickly, efficiently and on time. Market consultant Inteco estimates, for example, that only 27 per cent of PCs are shipped directly.
But there is a problem - the UK IT channel is comparatively poorly documented.
Commercial databases tend to concentrate on the key players and are designed for different reasons - not for answering your information needs. We have decided to rectify that.
In spring this year, PC Dealer commissioned NOP Research to carry out one of the biggest ever pieces of research into the UK indirect channel, using in-depth, state-of-the-art research techniques. The objectives of the study were simple, but not so simple to achieve - to establish the total number of channel players in the UK, to describe the categories into which they fall and to measure how many lie within each category.
Although the study was commissioned by PC Dealer, from the outset it was felt that the success of the project would be ensured by directly involving a wide range of channel players and IT suppliers. The companies listed in the table above have participated directly in the advisory panel and we are indebted to the individuals who gave their time to the project and provided constructive criticism and input throughout.
The aim was to arrive at a robust definition of the size and structure of the market and the decision-making structures used as they apply to sourcing of products and services. We also needed to explore the types of channel players: the number of key decision-makers and their job titles, the range and number of products offered within those categories and the typical corporate structure in terms of turnover and number of employees.
We then used a programme of some 1,500 interviews with key decision-makers to test and validate the model built from existing databases and primary sources.
According to our primary research and market modelling, there are an estimated 23,562 enterprises at work in the channel. We conducted an audit using large databases based on the research to develop accurate profiles of the players that fall into the different channel segments. The research shows the channel can be divided into the following distributors; walk-in retail; direct response off-the-page; direct response internet; value-added resellers; systems integrators; corporate resellers; traditional resellers; influencers; manufacturer/integrators and others.
One of the reasons you read PC Dealer is to find out the channel news.
But news shifts very quickly and we wanted to look in more depth into what you think are the key issues of interest. We know the role of the channel in addressing the problems of the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) is important, but what do you think will be the key issues confronting the channel over the next two years? What effects will product switching have? And what is your relationship with suppliers, particularly in areas such as year 2000 implementation and the types of support it requires?
The hottest issues facing the channel today, according to the NOP research, are how to capitalise on the small to medium sized business market and the year 2000 problem, which, no matter how jaundiced we may get about it in the press, the reseller is eager to find out more about.
To 45 per cent of those we interviewed, the SME market was the critical market and the majority of channel players had some exposure to it. Most did not believe manufacturers were providing the right types of support for this section of the market, even though they make many public statements about how important they think it is. In particular, channel players are looking for more product information (18 per cent) and improved technical support (16 per cent). Many also said they would welcome lower or more competitive prices (11 per cent).
Hot on the heels of SME in terms of importance were year 2000 issues.
There were a host of concerns about the amount of relevant and timely information made available in support of channel activities. The smaller players were less satisfied than the larger ones. One of the key problems was the inability to determine whether older kit was year 2000 compliant.
According to the research study, channel players felt information about products and support was inadequate and difficult to get hold of. Most now use the trade press and manufacturers' Web sites as key sources of information about new products and information.
If you would like to join the PC Dealer Advantage programme, receive further information about the research or receive your own regular copy of PC Dealer, please contact us on 0171 316 9638.