OTG to focus on PC business

With the appointment of new MD, Glenn Miller, One Technology Group (OTG), the Own Brand company in the Siltek IT Supply Chain Group, has reinvented itself both internally and externally, becoming a focused PC company.

The previously broad-based PC and component distributor is focusing on the three brands it now owns after acquiring Fujitech and Laptech last year and consolidating them into its operation alongside the Vision brand.

"We're in the top three distributors in the country and I believe we can use our existing infrastructure to benefit our dealers with a clear focus. Due to our ISO 9002 assembly rating, our dealers can expect a consistently high quality product, something which in turn improves their customer relationships," says Miller.

He adds: "I believe we will be able to claim the number one position in PC sales in the country within the next two to three years by aggressively marketing our value-added services to the channel, and that in the short term this strategy will double our sales."

Miller has set about making both internal and external changes to effect the new strategy of the company. "Externally we'll have one face selling a solution, while internally specialists will focus on customer care and their area of expertise with the various brands," he says.

OTG has recently made a major strategic shift in the sourcing of components for its PCs, with the responsibility now resting on the shoulders of the R&D department. "The building decisions now rest with the engineers while the salesmen and marketers are promoting the brands the R&D department design," says Miller.

All systems will have Microsoft, ISO, SABS and NSTL certification and at the price point OTG enters the market, Miller says dealers effectively get a tier one machine at tier two pricing.

Trek to the summit

00Days

:

00Hrs

:

00Min

:

00Sec

Over and above this OTG is investigating a one-year on-site warranty, which is an added value service resellers are looking for.

But the service does not stop at the creation of a system. "We do a full investigation of the environment our servers are going into before we make a recommendation to the client," says Miller. "After the client makes the choice in system, we configure it to that environment, then implement it and offer a four-hour response time to service and support issues."

Externally, OTG has made changes to the manner in which the sales team operates: instead of selling one brand, they now supply a solution suited to the clients' requirements.

This is in contrast to the structure of the internal support team, who offer enhanced technical and service expertise by focusing on specific brands. "We want to have groups of brand-specific support staff, so we'll have three departments within the support division. This way the teams will have specialist knowledge in supporting the brands and the client will get the best service possible," says Miller. He says this structure should make the dealer market more confident in the systems they receive from OTG, knowing the structures are in place to give them the best possible solution.

Internal IT systems have also been adjusted to cater to the new operational structure, and sales staff now have front-end tools to help them get the job done. "The front-end will link to every aspect of a job, order, or support request," says Miller. OTG has made it possible for any staff member to answer any customer questions, track the progress of a job or instruction and keep the customer informed. Besides that, internal functions such as leave forms, quoting forms and special customer requests have been made available on the intranet to all staff members.