CMS ramps up tablet plans

Distributor aims to shift 250,000 of its own-brand tablets this year

CMS Distribution is poised to move into the B2B tablet market after shifting 100,000 of its Scroll, Busbi and Disgo brands through retail last year.

The distributor, which recently changed its name from CMS Peripherals, aims to ship 250,000 tablets this year and will launch into the business channel in April.

Manufactured in Shenzhen in China, the Android-based devices are less than a third of the price of iPads despite the quality being similar to the first-generation model of Apple's tablet, CMS owner Frank Salmon said.

"We are confident we have a very low cost base so we are able to compete and offer the user good value," he added.

"This year we will be more aggressive because the quality is very good and Android is much more reliable."

CMS brought together its three businesses – CMS UK, CMS Ireland and CCI Distribution – under the CMS Distribution banner and moved to one ERP system on 2 January.

"We rolled out SAP in 12 months – which I believe is almost a record in the channel – with a few minor hiccups but nothing major, so it has been a very successful integration for us," Salmon said.