‘It’s survival’ - Target Components MD on the importance of added value and the distie’s people focus
Last week, Target Components held the latest edition of its open day, gathering hundreds of IT resellers and professionals
On 20 September 2024, CRN was invited to the Target Open Day, the trade event for IT resellers and professionals, organised by Yorkshire-based distributor Target Components.
Organised in Village Leeds South hotel, opened merely six years ago, the 15th edition of the event attracted vendors, distributors, resellers, and IT enthusiasts from across the UK.---
On the morning of the event, CRN spoke with Michael Lawrence, MD of Target Components.
With 20 years of experience in manufacturing and distribution businesses, Michael Lawrence became MD of Target Components in 2022.
Lawrence says he made the move as he wanted to run a business and embrace all the accountability and responsibility that brings.
Employees and ethos
Lawrence wanted to work in a business where the culture and values aligned with his own, a business that people were proud to work for and was genuinely a ‘good place to work’, according to a statement in March 2023.
Three months after he joined Target Components, the company became employee-owned, a move Lawrence points to as a demonstration of these values
“Employee ownership defines the culture of the business; open, transparent, and collaborative,” the MD says.
“The majority of Target’s shares are owned by an employee-owned trust.”
“It showed the world that we’re about actions, not words.”
“We also need to consult the employees on important matters, such as acquisitions and partnerships.”
Being employee-owned, the company needs to make sure that all of the team, including new hires, are both passionate and knowledgeable people.
The distribution firm counts a number of IT veterans, such as Frankling, among its ranks, but is also keen to raise the profile of its younger employees. One such high performer is Beth Dickinson, digital marketing assistant, who joined Target Components in 2022 when she was an apprentice with Baltic Apprenticeships, one of the exhibitors present at this year’s Open Day.
“She did more than meet all expectations – she is a perfect example of a success story,” says Caitlin Roberts, account relationship manager at Baltic Apprenticeships.
But pure knowledge is not the only criteria to matter in the hiring process, as “the cultural piece” is important for Lawrence.
“If you put one bad person in a 20 people office, it pollutes the whole team.”
Open day: genesis and goals
Now hosted at the upscale Village Leeds South, the Target Open Day had more humble beginnings.
“The first edition took place in Target Components’ parking lot, 15 years ago,” said Lawrence.
The business has come far since then, but the goal remains “to add value to the vendors who take the time to come and present what they’ve got to customers who take their time to come and listen.”
“This is not a holiday nor a day off, we give these brands value add.”
AI PCs, VAD and stock
When asked if Target Components is preparing for AI PCs, Lawrence says that they are currently looking at investments “from Google, Microsoft, Nvidia” in this sector to “identify how we can make benefit from that.”
“When AI becomes more commercially applicable, it's probably going to make some huge changes into the market, but it’s not something that’s asked massively by our customer base yet.”
Beyond AI, Lawrence insists on the human focus at the heart of the company, as Target is not using any AI chatbot, as the MD feels as they would lose a privileged point of contact with their customers.
“Paradoxically, it’s when a customer returns a product that you have the most chance of satisfying them.
“If you solve their issue, if you take the time to speak with them, they know that you are knowledgeable and that you genuinely care.”
Lawrence also strongly argues that Target Components is a value-added distributor (VAD), based on its services proposition and advisory work.
“When you look at broadline distributors, they don’t need to offer the services that we do, because they buy at such a scale that they’ll be relevant no matter what.
“That’s partly why our customer service is exceptionally good. Our customer service scores rank above Amazon, but it has to be, because Amazon can afford not to care.”
“It’s survival.”