ASM hails SMB success on Access Service's birthday

SME Access Service made up half of firm's turnover last year

ASM Technologies has managed to clock up sales of £15m - half of its annual turnover - through an SME-friendly service it launched a year ago.

The SME Access Service was unveiled last October and was designed to defend channel margins and help smaller firms win government business.

During the past 12 months, the company has racked up £15m in sales through the scheme, which accounts for more than half its sales over the past year.

It claims that by acquiring products and services through its scheme, SMEs can meet government procurement requirements and pitch for business that would have been out of their reach otherwise. The companies using the service also receive training from ASM so they can best respond to Invitation To Tender (ITT) documents.

The government has been keen to talk up its SME credentials over the past year - capping IT deals at £100m and enforcing a two-year maximum term - but small firms have recently spoken out about the barriers blocking them from public sector procurement.

ASM's sales director Iain Tomkinson said the SMB service has helped a lot.

"We discovered last year that many resellers were finding it difficult to meet the government's new requirements without seeing significant drops in their profitability," he said. "The sheer cost of on-boarding so many SMEs onto their supply chain just to remain compliant was proving too much to bear, so they were looking for a solution.

"With over 1,200 SMEs available through just one supplier relationship, many resellers have been able to continue to bid successfully for government contracts, and with over £15m of sales to SMEs, we have been able to help many innovative companies to grow during this time as well."