SPONSORED: PSA celebrates selling five million 2-POWER units

Specialist spares distributor PSA Parts is celebrating the five millionth unit sold by power solutions brand 2-POWER. Sales director Nick Walsh discussed the journey to reach this milestone, and what it means for resellers

Can you explain the connection between PSA and 2-Power?

PSA Parts was established 30 years ago. Originally, we specialised in real-time clock batteries and system board components, but our customers kept approaching us looking for a reliable source of laptop batteries as the market started to flourish.

OEM batteries were incredibly expensive and often took a very long time to source. There was a gap in the market for sensibly priced, reliable batteries, available off the shelf in the UK. The result was the 2-POWER brand.

How has the 2-POWER brand evolved over its 20-year existence?

The brand has expanded from a handful of batteries to the current range of over 2,000 products including AC adapters, screens, keyboards, docking stations and power banks. More recently, 2-POWER launched a range of memory and storage products and has become one of the channel's fastest-growing brands in this category.

January 2020 marked 2-POWER's five millionth product sold and we'd like to say a big thank you to the thousands of customers that trust the brand and have made this possible.

What is the 2-POWER challenge?

Hardware margins are becoming slimmer, and spares represent an opportunity to reverse that. We analysed a selection of our top reseller's purchases and found they were saving on average between 35 and 40 per cent on OEM prices. This saving can represent an increase in the reseller's margin, a decrease in price to their customer to win more business or, as is most effective in our experience, a combination of the two. We're encouraging resellers to take the 2-POWER challenge and see what a difference it makes to their bottom line.

What challenges do resellers face when it comes to sourcing spares?

OEM parts can be expensive and difficult to source, and compatibility can often be confusing, with little help available from the manufacturer. Add to that the influx of cheap, poor-quality replacement parts available now and many resellers are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to supplying quality parts their customers can rely on, at a sensible price.

How does 2-POWER help with these challenges?

The 2-POWER range cuts through all these challenges. It offers significant savings over most OEM spares while instilling confidence through extended warranties of up to three years. The £2,000 connected equipment guarantee on the power range reassures users that they're choosing a reliable and reputable brand. The breadth of range also ensures resellers don't need to waste time shopping around.

What plans do you have for 2-POWER over the next few years?

The next few years will be exciting. In addition to growing our current product lines, we're expanding into a number of new categories as IT, telecoms and AV converge.

We're proud to already supply the majority of the UK's top resellers. Our goal for 2020 is to connect with those that haven't yet experienced the 2-POWER brand and demonstrate how it can help them win business and increase margins.

We're also very focused on our environmental impact across the business. Plastic-free packaging and sustainability throughout our supply chain are just two examples of current developments.

Is 2-Power only available through PSA?

PSA is the master distributor for 2-POWER; however, the range is also available through a select network of additional distributors.

What differentiates PSA from its competitors?

Our modern distribution environment is a key element of PSA that sets us apart from our competitors. We stock a massive range of spares, both OEM and 2-POWER, and we hold our stock within the UK, allowing us to offer cheap next-day delivery. In addition, our drop ship capability sits at over 2,000 parcels a day and we operate as a virtual spares warehouse for a number of the UK's top resellers already.

We have a completely bespoke in-house IT platform which gives us unlimited possibilities for integration with our customers, including EDI, data feeds, configurators and even white-label web apps.

In my opinion, my sales team is one of the biggest differentiators. Their wealth of knowledge from specialising in spare parts for 30 years means our customers benefit from a dedicated account manager available via phone or email to help them find the right part first time.

This article was commissioned by PSA