Cape -based Bowline, the local supply chain management firm that manufactures and distributes products for the IT, software publishing and music industries, has been contracted to distribute Microsoft Press` official product manuals and user tools throughout South Africa.
Microsoft Press is a private company wholly owned by Microsoft Corporation. The company publishes official Microsoft training manuals and CDs focussed at specific user types and levels, as well as various specific software requirements for Microsoft users. The distribution contract for Microsoft Press in South Africa is currently worth some R10m per year. According to Bowline MD Peter Theunissen, this distribution contract for Microsoft Press had been on the cards for some time. "The situation, however, was speeded-up by the demise of the IT group Siltek." Raymond Moodley, Microsoft`s business manager for South Africa, South East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, says the Siltek situation may have caused some IT-related companies - especially in the fields of distribution and retail - to suffer.
"However, the market for distributors and suppliers has now opened up considerably, allowing companies like Bowline to step into the void and utilise a new opportunity. Bowline, which has a 60% shareholding by JSE-listed AMB Private Equity Partners Limited, is now one of two South African companies who distribute the official Microsoft branded product locally, the other being Masterskill.
"Bowline will be responsible for distributing these products to IT retailers and bookshops such as Incredible Connection and Exclusive Books, computer resellers and corporate learning centres while Masterskill supplies the training market. Moodley says these products are currently in high demand in South Africa, by far the largest marking for Microsoft products in Africa. "Fast and efficient fulfillment of this demand is imperative to ensure customer satisfaction as Microsoft`s reputation is at stake. "Bowline`s history of service and timeous delivery, as well as their competitive pricing, helped to swing the decision, as did their proven track record in supply chain management" he says.
According to Moodley, the decision to contract Bowline was also based partly on the historical relationship and existing synergy between the two companies. "Bowline was the first non-American company to be awarded an official Microsoft Authorised Replicator certificate, which, along with only 29 international companies permits Bowline to assemble and distribute Microsoft software. We are sure that Microsoft Press can count on the same efficiency and service levels that Bowline has given our other divisions over the years."
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