HP goes after Dell with Smart Choice sales tool
Vendor claims that sales tool will take complexity of pre-sales away from its partners
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has unveiled another weapon in its offensive against Dell, by taking the wraps off its latest Smart Choice sales tool.
Currently at the end of a pilot phase with 15 selected Preferred Partners in the UK – including Vohkus, PC World and Misco – Smart Choice V3 is designed to steer more end-users towards the channel through direct links from its HP.com web site. HP claims resellers can make margins of up to 40 per cent.
The vendor is gearing up to offer the tool, which covers its entire product portfolio, to more of its 200 UK Preferred Partners in 2007. Smart Choice 3 is divided into two versions: one designed specifically for partners and one for end-user customers.
The tool allows VARs to see stock levels of all products across the UK distribution supply chain. VARs will then be able to give customers pricing and precise lead-times, ranging from 24 hours for basic orders to 14-plus days for configured orders, the larger ones of which are automatically fulfilled through HP’s build-to-order TopConfig scheme. Partners can also access all channel promotions and special pricing and margin information.
End-users visiting HP’s commercial web site will be automatically diverted to a local HP Preferred Partner site once they have made an order.
Lucas Perraudin, SME business sales manager for EMEA at HP, said: “This takes all of the complexity of pre-sales from our partners and allows them to focus on their core business. Every time a product is selected, partners will see attach options to push cross- and up-sell opportunities to further boost margins.”
Loay Lawrence, commercial director at Preferred Partner Vohkus, said: “From an efficiency perspective, our sales people will not have to keep going backwards and forwards talking to distribution. They will sound more knowledgeable when they talk to our customers because they will know precisely what is in stock and what products are compatible.”
Lawrence added that HP has stolen a march on rivals such as Dell.
“We know HP’s competitors are trying to offer something similar, but HP is that much ahead of the competition,” he said.