While many other manufacturers choose to shun the channel and opt for direct distribution models, Hewlett-Packard has reaffirmed its loyalty to the mode by reinventing its channel program.
"When our competition says, `you don`t need the channel,` we beg to differ," says Peter van der Fluit, vice president for worldwide enterprise marketing at HP, Palo Alto. He reveals that HP`s Channels on Tap program will dedicate a specialized portal to connecting customers with qualified "agents", HP`s catch-all term for integrators, traditional VARs and solution providers.
Traci Maynard, product manager for Hewlett-Packard peripherals at Tarsus Technologies, says that the HP approach to the channel is a refreshing tribute to the value that the channel adds to the distribution model. "There is a perception among some manufacturers that the channel is nothing more than a middleman adding mark-up to goods," she says. "However, Hewlett-Packard acknowledges the value that the channel brings to the distribution of its products through its channel program," she continues. The message from HP is that the challenge facing agents is to find new revenue sources as the market continues to follow a trend away from selling boxes and toward selling services.
"It is exactly in the services arena that Tarsus, as a distributor, can add value to the HP product offering," states Maynard.
"Many companies such as Toshiba are moving towards the direct model; however, affiliate programs - in effect, channel programs - have begun to evolve as many online sellers come to realise that most products still require a channel to deliver - a source, warehousing and a 'local representative` to recommend the product and assist the customer with its use," concludes Maynard.
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