One of the greatest contradictions in distribution is this: we’re in the business of integration, yet so much of what we do is siloed.
We talk about seamless supply chains, end-to-end value and unified platforms, and yet inside our own businesses, duplication, fragmentation and misalignment are still very real. Sometimes that’s structural. Sometimes it’s inherited. But most often, it’s habitual.
Coming into ICT distribution from the outside gives you a different lens. You notice things others may have stopped seeing. Silos don’t always announce themselves. They often look like focus or structure or good process. But step back and you see the cracks. They slow things down, narrow decision-making and make it harder to move as one business, even when you’re trying to serve just one customer.
In a market where customer needs are becoming more complex and vendor portfolios are evolving fast, this fragmentation becomes a real liability. Resellers don’t care how your systems are structured. They care about speed. About visibility. About being able to trust that what they’re told matches what actually arrives. In product, in pricing, in delivery and in support.
That’s why I believe the real challenge in distribution today isn’t just scale. It’s connection.
Integrated distribution isn’t just about linking your ERP to your CRM. It’s about aligning how you think, decide and act. Across vendors. Across teams. Across systems and regions. It’s about making it easier for people to work with you, and easier for your people to work together. And most importantly, it’s about delivering value that feels connected, not stitched together.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s something we’ve had to confront directly. We work across a broad vendor landscape. The reseller base is diverse. And the footprint spans multiple territories and product categories. Integration hasn’t been a single project. It’s been a series of choices. Some easy. Some not. We’ve had to simplify how product ranges are managed. Challenge internal habits that were more about comfort than effectiveness. And rethink what kind of information partners need and how quickly they should be able to access it.
There are still many areas we’re working on. Integration isn’t a destination. It’s a discipline. It requires ongoing attention and honest reflection. But we’ve seen the payoff. Less friction. Faster response. More consistent experiences for resellers. Better context for vendors.
It also creates space for innovation. When your systems talk to each other, your people can too. When your operations are aligned, your teams can spend less time chasing updates and more time solving problems. That’s when distribution becomes strategic, not just functional.
There’s no silver bullet. Every distributor has their own context, and not every integration challenge can be solved overnight. But if we want to remain relevant, we need to keep asking ourselves: where are we still making our customers do the joining up for us?
Because in this channel, integration isn’t a backend function. It’s a front-facing promise. And the more connected we are behind the scenes, the more valuable we become in the moments that matter.
Share
DCC Technologies