Long queues, high prices and extreme travel costs are typical factors of the small to medium enterprise (SME) reseller experience.
This is the view of Stephan van Rensburg, MD of Channelware, the SME-focused technology distributor arm of local company MB Technologies. Channelware aims to focus on SME resellers that don't generally warrant the attention of the larger distribution companies.
“Distribution as a rule competes around inventory, delivery and terms. While bigger resellers are well suited to gain from these, SMEs by default are too small to qualify for the value proposition,” explains Anton Herbst, MD of ACT. ACT makes up the consumer subsidiary of the Channelware initiative.
Channelware has zeroed in on the needs of the SME, focusing on market segments instead of just specific products. In this way the company has identified the need for several services in the market.
“The SME is typically a one-stop shop to its own customers and usually the SME customer is too small to have its own IT department,” states Herbst. This drives the need to provide both products and services at strategic locations, bringing both convenience and cost saving, he adds.
Van Rensburg explains that the store currently offers an HP-managed print station service, as well an Internet station offering a range of office services such as fax, scan and copy. The Channelware centres will also offer vendor training, he adds.
The MB Technologies group has established nine Channelware centres countrywide with a view to extend this to 10 stores by year-end. “We have invested a lot to establish the stores in the right regions and we a starting to see some traction in the market,” says MB Technologies CFO, Glenn Fullerton. “Our customer base is growing month-on-month.”
The SME has been neglected by resellers and distributors, opines Fullerton. “We are trying to assist the SME to grow and develop in a personalised way, that is also convenient,” he adds.
“Channelware's goal is to enable the SME player to compete aggressively in the market,” concludes Van Rensburg.
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