Exertis merges enterprise division into Hammer

Hammer had remained separate from Exertis since the acquisition in 2016

Exertis has combined its enterprise division with Hammer, with the new business set to be headed up by Hammer boss James Ward.

The distributor acquired Hammer in 2016 and, until now, the business had continued to operate as a separate entity.

The newly merged organisation will be known as Exertis Hammer, with Ward reporting to Exertis' UK managing director Paul Bryan.

Bryan said: "With the integration of the Hammer and Exertis enterprise commercial and sales teams we will provide even greater value to our customers by offering an enhanced vendor portfolio, with an extensive professional services wrap, and significant employee expertise that can address the differing requirements of our customers and their vertical markets.

"James [Ward], with his experience, industry pedigree and business acumen is the ideal person to lead our enterprise business both in the UK and across Europe where Hammer already has successful operations in several countries."

Earlier in the year Exertis boss Gerry O'Keeffe told CRN that we could expect to see further alignment between the two organisations, put pointed out that this would be the Exertis enterprise business into Hammer, rather than the other way around.

The newly combined portfolio now includes components, servers, storage, networking, security, wireless, unified communications, software and cloud, Exertis said.

Ward added: "The name itself is the main change here, but at the same time this is an opportunity to refocus on our customers and core strengths with better utilisation of our complete enterprise skill sets, to deliver a more comprehensive and compelling offering to our customers.

"It's an exciting time for our enterprise business and with the financial strength and support of our parent company, we aim to capitalise on the solid foundations we have built in Hammer's overseas operations, further broadening our value-added distribution capabilities and footprint across Europe."