Channel will become 'more integral' to Fujitsu after closure of last European facility

Vendor claims channel sales now make up 80 per cent of its sales, up from 55 per cent a year and a half ago

The channel will become central to Fujitsu's business when it closes its sole remaining European product facility in the next two years, according to Paul Mclean, director of channel sales at Fujitsu UK.

The vendor announced in October that it plans to shutter its product development, manufacturing and logistics centre in southern Germany, and move it to Japan.

Mclean told CRN that the company had to adapt due to the competitive nature of the market and what it was seeing across the space.

"[Partners] very much understand that this is something that all the vendors have gone through in some guise over the last number of years," he said.

"There is an appreciation that this is a necessary evolution from Fujitsu in order for us to be best positioned to compete in what is a highly competitive industry.

"There is nobody else manufacturing in mainland Europe and we need to make sure that we are competitive with our portfolio in the medium and long term."

Mclean emphasised the importance of the channel to Fujitsu, stating that it will become "more integral" to the business as the vendor must ensure an efficient supply chain.

The shuttering of the manufacturing facility is part of a shift away from Fujitsu's traditional product business to a service-orientated one, the vendor said at the time.

Last year it sold a 51 per cent stake in its PC business to Lenovo.

These changes do not mean the vendor is less committed to selling hardware, Mclean said.

"Hardware sales are still hugely important to us," he stated.

"Fujitsu talks about a connected services strategy, which involves products and services - [the product business] is an integral part of the long-term vision and strategy of the company."

Recent data from Canalys indicates that 2019 will see marginal growth in the PC market, after a seven-year dry spell.

Fujitsu figures reflect this, according to Mclean, who reported growth of 60 per cent in its high-end mobility products, along with 25 per cent growth in its tablet sales.

The ratio of direct sales to indirect sales has also increased in the past couple of years, according to the channel director.

"A year and a half ago, we planned to take indirect sales from 55 per cent of our business to 90 per cent over a two-year window," he said.

"We are now at 80 per cent and will reach the 90 per cent target by the end of 2019. This is confirmation that Fujitsu is 100 per cent back in this channel-centric strategy.

"We will always, where possible, look for an indirect route to market and we continue to look at the partners that we are working with and their vertical specialisation."

Mclean and Leigh Schvatz, head of cloud and MSP offerings at Fujitsu UK, told CRN in May that Fujitsu wanted to recruit 10 partners to its new MSP programme.

So far 27 partners have been recruited, with another 20 in talks to join the programme.

It has also made changes in its direct partner programme, where only Expert and Select Circle partners can access deal registration, which was decided based on feedback from partners, Mclean said.

DaaS on

The vendor is also joining the growing desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) trend, having successfully completed a pilot phase this year.

Schvatz said there was a strong growth trajectory of people moving towards cloud-based desktops.

"We've done this because we have a number of channel partners who want to start doing more services but don't have the investment or expertise to do it themselves," he explained.

"We've set up this service and made it available to partners to sell; there are no initial upfront costs to be able to sell and they can take the DaaS model out to customers.

"It really allows us to leverage our strength in both products and services."

Schvatz added that although its DaaS offering is still in its infancy, it will be a big focus area for the vendor once it is launched widely next year.