Lars Schmermbeck, Zebra Technologies

Lars Schmermbeck is VP and senior director of EMEA channel sales, Zebra Technologies. His career journey started in 1997 commencing with a professional odyssey at Robert Bosch, Germany. His zeal for innovation and adaptability soon led him into the AIDC industry where he spent five years working for Datalogic and then moved to Symbol Technologies (the start of his Zebra Technologies journey) as an account manager.

From there he was promoted to his first direct channel role nurturing the alliance between Symbol and IBM.

In 2010, he moved into the regional channel management leadership role working in both the Nordics & DACH region. Symbol was eventually acquired by Motorola Solutions, and in turn Motorola Solutions was acquired by Zebra Technologies in 2014. Lars stayed with the companies during these exciting times. In the beginning of 2018, he moved into his current role, leading the EMEA channel sales team and taking responsibility for the full channel.

Number of years in current role:

6

Number of years in current company:

21

Number of years involved in indirect sales:

26

Reporting to:

Richard Hudson, chief revenue officer

Describe your personal channel philosophy.

Without a channel, a company like Zebra is like an Astronaut without a rocket. The importance of the channel has evolved over the last decade, in so much as the reach into different markets, their verticals and sub-verticals is not possible without the right channel ecosystem. An effective channel is more than a "selling machine" as it requires mutual agreements between organisations with different capabilities to focus on helping customers achieve their desired business outcomes. Effective channel ecosystems include Distributors selling to resellers and solution providers, and close relationships with the non-transactional partners like ISVs, consultants, and Managed Service Providers.

What were your biggest channel accomplishments over the past year?

Distribution Alignment & Supply Chain enhancement. Building solutions to overcome Grey Market challenges. Meeting F2F with over 2000 Partners. Launching initiatives our Zebra Rewards program & rebate programs. Leading an inside sales channel organisation that continues to grow despite the economic environment & business performance.

What were your organisation's biggest channel accomplishments over the past year?

Firstly, despite the difficult macro environment, we have been able to hold our channel stable and our partners close. We reacted to urgent demand and supported our channel in the best way possible. We met with over 1400 partners during our in-person Regional Partner Summits in the first half of 2023 to engage and enable them to focus on growth opportunities and outcome-based driven approaches.

Secondly, we came out of a year with never seen before supply constraints and we collaboratively managed the situation with our partners and distributors and were able to normalize the situation and help our customers manage their business. Last, the way of working with our distribution landscape has evolved to a new level as we have started to work much closer to manage the Distributors and Zebras sales growth targets and inventory in very close alignment. This collaboration plays out for both of us very positive and has been a key driver of success.

How is your company working to build equity and inclusion in the channel?

Zebra has built a culture of inclusion and diversity over several years. Internally we focused on building Employee Resource Groups to allow all our employees to feel valued and heard. These efforts continue to be rolled out to our Channel, where we have run events alongside our partners. Recently we surveyed our partners to understand how and where they would like to engage with Zebra on inclusion and diversity. And, at our 2024 Partner Summit, we are running sessions focused on the benefits of having a strategy on I&D to enable growth in their businesses.

How is your organisation's market development strategy (MDF) changing this year?

Zebra is continuing to utilise our planning process in its fullest capacity. This includes aligning Zebra's go-to-market strategy with the strategies that our individual partners may have. We are also closely monitoring the ROI of investments from 2023 so that we can ensure that our MDF investments in 2024 will have the largest impact possible for our partners and for Zebra. Some key drivers include Digital Transformation, ABM, Partner-Led Events, GTM transformation, Co-Marketing Tools and Campaigns

What are your top channel goals for 2024?

Improve partner profitability.

Increase the amount of net new accounts coming through partners.

Encourage partners to sell a broader part of our portfolio.

What were the key partner investments made over the past year?

Launched a new incentive program, Zebra Rewards for our partner sales representatives. Started training our partner community on outcome-based selling, which aligns to Zebra's strategic go-to-market strategy. Invested in our on-location Regional Partner Summits in key locations across Europe. Made significant advancements to our partner portal, Partner Gateway.

How is the rise of public cloud marketplaces as a route to market affecting your channel?

We have harmonised it with other channel routes to market.