Axe poised to fall on 3Com distributors after reshuffle

3Com distributors are facing yet another spate of cullings as the vendor revealed plans to slash its overcrowded channel just eight months after reorganising its operations.

The networking vendor's intention to reduce the number of distributors coincides with the sudden departure on 11 June of Fiona Faulkner, general manager of the client access division at 3Com.

Kevin Vine, who has replaced Faulkner, said: 'We are reviewing the European channel for the next year, as there is a need to reduce the number of distributors.'

Vine said the vendor would be hoping to chop two or three distributors out of the chain, but he added: 'Over time it would be nice if we could say we had six.'

However, Karen Holmes, 3Com product manager at distributor Globelle, said: 'This has been on the cards for ages but whether 3Com gets around to doing it is another matter.'

Last year, the vendor split its product business into three divisions with a reduced total of 10 distributors selling across the product sections (PC Dealer, 22 October 1997).

Three months ago, the product divisions were merged into two, leaving less room for the distributors. Vine said 3Com was intending to focus on smaller Vars and would review its accreditation scheme.

Eliot Corder-Gill, network manager at European Electronique, said contact from the vendor was minimal: 'In the last few weeks a pre-sales guy has been showing interest but how he stumbled across our company, I don't know.'