ScanSource defends centralisation

The distributor that bought MTV Telecom in 2008 has eased reseller concerns over its warehouse move

ScanSource Communications has centralised logistics to Liege in Belgium

Distributor ScanSource Communications has vowed to quickly eradicate any teething problems relating to its European centralisation and claims UK resellers will benefit from the move.

In mid May the distributor, whose UK presence is based on its 2008 acquisition of MTV Telecom, centralised warehousing to Liege in Belgium. UK resellers have also been ported onto a new central IT system.

The move has met a mixed reception from the channel, with maintenance partners voicing concerns they will now either have to stock spares on high-run items or use another distributor.

Others reported teething problems with the new IT system and expressed frustration they could no longer pay by direct debit.

Xavier Cartiaux, President of ScanSource Europe, said: “The reason we changed the model is we are growing the UK business pretty aggressively. We wanted to introduce new vendors to our customers and didn't have enough scalability in the Egham warehouse.

“It is bringing a lot more positives than negatives and we are sorting out the hiccups one by one.”

Cartiaux said ScanSource is already working on solving the spare parts issue and will probably either hold stock itself in the old warehouse or team up with a third party. “We understand that sometimes resellers have to go on site within a couple of hours. We do not expect resellers to hold stock as this is the job of the distributor,” he said.

A solution is also being sought for resellers who want to pay by direct debit, he added.

And UK partners will also now gain access to the tools developed for its barcode business, Cartiaux stressed. An online catalogue will be introduced soon, for instance.

Russell Lux, managing director of Luxtech, said the culture of MTV had changed since its acquisition by ScanSource. “We will probably look to move to Nimans, and bear in mind we spent £250,000 with MTV last year,” he said.

Richard Dendel, managing director of Britannic Technologies, said: “Nimans must be rubbing its hands with glee.”

However, Paul Blundell, managing director of iQual, said he understood the logic of the move.

"ScanSource has got a much larger product portfolio now, so its ability to hold stock in the UK warehouse would have been under pressure," he said.

Cartiaux said it was regrettable if some VARs were thinking of switching. “This surprises me as we haven’t changed the sales team and have added headcount and are organising a lot more seminars,” he added.