Samsung eyes B2B glory in 2012

Vendor feels bullish about winning business hearts and minds through its partner network as it branches out from traditional retail comfort zone

Samsung Electronics is throwing its weight behind its channel partners as it strives for a greater share of the B2B market.

Neil Sawyer (pictured), head of marketing, IT division and corporate B2B at Samsung UK and Ireland, said the vendor has spent the past 18 months rejigging the business to ensure it is ready for the B2B challenge.

Samsung has handpicked a crop of between 15 and 20 partners - including Misco, Softcat, XMA, Insight, Computacenter and SCC - to drive its B2B push as Elite-level partners.

"We see the B2B market as an addressable opportunity. If we had 100 per cent market share it would be worth £3.5bn a year. At the moment we have between five and eight per cent of that market and realistically would like to get to between eight and 10 per cent of that by the end of the year," he said.

However, the vendor is not ignoring its next layer of partners, he stressed, as Samsung has also been working closely with its distributors - including SDG, Westcoast, Micro-P, Ingram, Midwich and C2000 - to ensure Advantage Plus-level partners have the necessary support to gain ground over its rivals. The channel is key to Samsung's success, he insisted.

"We are the only manufacturer in the market that doesn't have a direct sales engine. We don't have any focus or interest in doing that," Sawyer said. "In terms of the investment we would have to make, we would much rather put it into the channel and make sure they have all the tools at their disposal."

Sawyer said Samsung has recently merged all its IT divisions together to give resellers just one account manager to deal with, and has also built up its end-user sales team, which will work with the channel to create new opportunities.

Traditionally, Samsung's heritage has been in the retail space, he explained, but in order to grow profitably as a business it has to ensure it has the right balance between retail and B2B.

Samsung's market share has been historically strong in displays, digital signage and desktop displays, but it is gaining traction in the desktop and mid-range printing space, as well as the booming business notebook and tablet space.

"For us the Windows Slate PCs and the Google Android tablets have seen quite a lot of success, particularly in the retail space," he said, hinting that rivals such as Apple should not take their eyes off the ball. "The power of the partnership between Samsung and its major partners such as Google and Microsoft should not be underestimated," he said.

"By bringing these relationships together we develop a dual marketing plan and sales strategy, so we are confident of continuing success both this year and next year."

And in case its printing and display partners were feeling left out, Sawyer revealed Samsung is gearing up to launch an Elite-level type classification in those areas too, to ensure it continues to take advantage of the opportunity out there.