Network Group to expand membership under new general manager

But Simon Tetlow says top priority will be to expand revenue stream on offer for existing members

Network Group is looking to selectively expand its membership under its new general manager, but not at the expense of its incumbents.

Simon Tetlow starts today in the new role at the buying group, which has been created to free up time for chairman Wayne Cockerill and managing director Phylip Morgan to focus on other projects.

Tetlow said his focus will be on identifying new revenue streams for Network Group's 70 reseller, MSP and retailer members, while cautiously expanding the membership base.

"Network Group is very focused on those 70 members, but we have aspirations to grow, and that's one of the things I'll be looking at," he said.

"But we will grow in a way that doesn't disrupt our current resellers. We need to show the value that Network Group can give, and we also need to look at what the reseller can provide to us. It is a two-way street; it's not something anyone can join and get preferential services, pricing or relationships with vendors."

Network Group's members have a combined turnover of £400m. It now bills itself as a 'technology community', with the mission of supporting its members to "buy better, sell more, adapt to disruption, capitalise on opportunity and increase profit".

Tetlow (pictured) agreed that the market needs to update its perception of what a buying group provides.

"Early in my career, I thought it was just a renegotiated contract where you buy a laptop a couple of per cent cheaper, but obviously they provide a lot more resources and services than that," he said.

Tetlow claimed his top priority is to expand the revenue streams on offer to Network Group's members.

"Phylip and Wayne could see me bringing quality and experience to the business from the channel side and enhancing their offering for resellers," he said.

"I know print is one they want to look at, as well as other service-related products that give resellers a leading edge. We all know at the moment that if you're just selling tin it's very hard to survive on the margins hardware provides and I think a lot of the successful resellers are doing things outside the box by adding services, or recycling, or managed print services, or something else [that's] different."