Value-added resellers based in SA but looking to tout their wares further north are set to experience cost and logistical benefits from the formalisation of an HP wholesaler channel that focuses purely on the African market.
The initiative is just part of HP`s greater drive to deliver end-to-end computing and imaging solutions in the African market, kick-started late last year when the company formed a division dedicated to the continent.
Comprised of three core companies - Case Tarsus, Cosi Distribution and it4africa - the new distribution channel circumvents the need for local resellers to establish cross-border infrastructures or create a supply chain to service customers in Africa. There are also significant cost benefits.
"VARs purchasing from a wholesaler that sells into the South African market are buying products that have already cleared customs and are subject to local duty," explains Thierry Boulanger, the regional sales manager for African distribution business at HP.
"By purchasing from one of our Africa wholesalers the VARs get product that is duty free. They can also avoid covering value-added tax, customs clearing, freight or delivery costs at the final export destination - these are factored into the pricing offered by the wholesaler."
That pricing is itself attractive. The wholesalers work from a price list generated by HP in Europe and optimised for the African market; these benefits are then passed down to VARs at local level.
Feeling among the wholesalers is upbeat. All three believe there is great potential for business in the African market and that the plans in place will be effective.
Tony Jordon, the director of Harare-based wholesaler Case Tarsus, sees his territory - which includes Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana - growing thanks to increased use of the Internet. "We should see solid increases in competitively-priced products such as PCs and notebooks. There are still some support challenges but the steps that have been taken so far are encouraging."
Lindi Shortt, the sales director at Cosi Distribution in Johannesburg, shares the optimism, saying that the market for Soho solutions in the southern African region covered by Cosi is hotting up.
"Business in Africa is extremely competitive. That`s why we`ve invested in a new team for the region - this ensures our customers benefit from stable and attractive pricing as well as the product availability, flexibility, solutions information, knowledge and skills transfer that are necessary," she says.
it4africa, the other Johannesburg-based wholesaler, takes a broad range of HP solutions into 23 countries that span east, west and southern Africa (including the Indian Ocean islands).
"With the [wholesale channel] as streamlined as it is now, there`s huge potential in Africa," says Dino Candaras, the national sales manager at it4africa. "That`s why we are striving to supply superior service and price, as well as a constant and reliable supply of goods and services. This takes the guess work out of the IT supply chain and in turn stimulates the market."
Together the Africa wholesalers can deliver on HP`s total range of Intel-based solutions as well as other Soho and consumable products - Cosi specialising in printing solutions and supplies, Case Tarsus and it4africa being more broad-based. Jordon notes that the nature of the business in African territories is such that it does not warrant wholesaler-level focus on higher-end solutions - although technical advice and pricing is readily available for VARs and systems implementers serving the enterprise infrastructure market.
"Our wholesalers` mandate is to offer the optimum solution for SA VARs doing business in different African countries - this means focusing on the large volume solution sets, maintaining competitive pricing levels and offering a solid infrastructure with quality pre- and post-sales support," says Boulanger.
The other natural extension and benefit of this initiative is HP`s (and its wholesalers`) ability to combat the scourge of grey market product historically omnipresent on the continent.
For more information on HP`s solutions and activities in Africa, surf to www.hp.com/country/aa/eng/welcome.htm
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