Telkom is set to institute a policy instructing all multinational IT vendors to select a single local black economic empowerment (BEE) company as a channel distributor for services supporting vendor equipment.
This is according to Motlatsi Nzeku, Telkom group executive for procurement services, who says large international IT companies use a variety of local business partners to deal with Telkom.
"We are discouraging the multinational vendors from this multi-agency model to what we believe is a more credible and sustainable model. There will come a time [when we have to stop such a model] - this can`t go on forever," says Nzeku.
However, Nzeku also cautions that no decisions on how to encourage its multinational vendors to select one local channel distributor have yet been formalised. The practice of different companies, being used by large multinational IT vendors to provide similar services to Telkom, presents an administrative nightmare and does not ensure consistent levels of service and service quality performance, he says.
Cumbersome
"It`s becoming cumbersome for us to keep using these multiple channels - there is no consistency of service and it`s difficult to benefit from efficiencies and economies of scale."
He believes that concentrating on one channel partner will bring greater stability, accountability, improve service quality and will save on costs. Nzeku notes that discussions on how to resolve the situation have already taken place.
"We have to reach amicable compromises; we don`t want to just make irresponsible ultimatums," Nzeku adds.
Telkom is aware, he says, of the fact that many multinationals like to use different channel partners. "Having seven or eight 'certified` distributors gives them a bigger footprint in the country without the cost associated with that footprint."
He adds that some of the multinationals are reluctant to restrict their business with Telkom to one local distributor, because of a fear they will ruin some existing channel relationships.
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