Acer has joined forces with its value-added distributor Tarsus Technologies to open a final configuration centre in Sandton for its PC and server product ranges.
According to Acer MD David Drummond, the value of the investment is $1 million.
Drummond says Acer had been searching for some time for a local company to assist it with the final assembly of its PCs in SA, and Tarsus meets its criteria perfectly.
"Over the past two years, Tarsus has performed a number of complex technical roll-outs for Acer across the country," says Drummond.
"Its enterprise resource management and shop floor control systems satisfy the quality control standards required for our multinational brand, and the organisation has years of PC engineering and configuration experience.
"Despite this, Tarsus has been open to implementing our preferred methodologies for qualification, configuration and the testing of units," he says.
Guy Whitcroft, MD of Tarsus, says that because of the local content component, the final configuration centre will mean more effective pricing.
"It will also be a boost for both companies` empowerment credentials, as we will be utilising local resources and staff," says Whitcroft.
According to Whitcroft, Acer was the fastest growing brand that Tarsus has ever taken on as a distributor. Over the past year, Acer has been consistently the fastest growing top five PC vendor in the EMEA region. In SA, the brand has seen a 136% year-on-year growth in overall unit shipments. In a mobile PC market that grew 73%, Acer recorded a 240% growth in notebook sales.
According to Drummond, Acer`s decision to assemble its machines locally is in line with current practices in the global supply chain, as optimisation is a key factor in an international vendor remaining successful.
"What determines our success is cost, speed and the quality of the supply chain, as well as after-sales service to the customer," says Drummond.
To this end, the business has put a lot more emphasis on customer care, with the development of an integrated service call centre, spare parts logistics hub and notebook repair laboratory.
"This has allowed us to improve the customer experience, and has also offered us the opportunity to deliver precise services to the advantage of our end-users."
Drummond also announced Acer`s new range of notebooks.
These will include the entry-level TravelMate 2000, the TravelMate 2500, which is aimed at the SoHo and SME market, the mid-market TravelMate 6000 and its latest high-end notebook, the TravelMate 8000.
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