Now more than ever before conventional IT dealers are making the transition to becoming value-added resellers (VARs). At the same time, those that have already established themselves as VARs are on the look-out for new avenues in which they can bolster their value proposition. However, the definition of a VAR varies depending to whom you speak, so there`s a veritable minefield out there in terms of finding the right definition.
Today dealers are still convinced that to become a VAR, they need to beef up their logistics infrastructure and be capable of providing customers with quotes and stock far faster than their competitors. Ironically, the provision of fast quotes and deliveries is just the ticket to the game and not in any way encompassing of the skills and service competencies required to be classified as a VAR.
In fact, for the majority of vendors and value-added distributors the fact that this misperception is commonplace in the market is rather daunting.
From a vendor and distributor`s perspective, being a VAR is about getting into the mind of the customer, understanding what the customer would like to do with the product or service they are procuring, and lastly assisting them in achieving that goal with success.
When this is placed in the context of A.C.T.`s core business, namely consumables of all types and description, very often the customer is looking to his VAR to help him in understanding the costs associated with the company`s output fleet and more appropriately, getting those costs under control.
Yet we still find that many resellers continue shoving quotes across the desk at their customers and constantly chasing their internal monthly targets. Besides the fact that this in no way offers the customer what they truly require, this common practise makes it even more difficult for the sales person to get into the customer`s head.
When sales people only chase targets and figures, they tend to live life ` blinkered`, not paying sufficient attention to what their customers` real challenges are.
If the resellers however, were able to help their customers contain print costs, stop stock shrinkage and streamline the logistics associated with supplying consumables across their entire operation countrywide, the customer would see `real value` and be prepared to reward the reseller with good margins and loyalty.
As the above example shows, often the provision of value has little to do with the technology or product involvement. This is classically where the majority of the dealers making the transition to VAR face their biggest challenge.
With a strong commitment to solving the customer`s problems using any means possible, the reseller will find themselves making this transition rather easily.
Another factor new VARs need to keep in mind is that the value being offered to the customer need not necessarily reside with them.
Since being a VAR is about understanding the customer`s challenges and coming up with a suitable solution, it often makes little difference if the reseller doesn`t currently have the specific service required by their customer in place. By collaborating and strategically sourcing the required skills and services, either from their peers in the market or their distributors the resellers can still provide these services inexpensively to their customers, and at the same time remain of high-value.
Lidia Ngengebule, supplies corporate account manager at HP`s Imaging and Printing Group says that primarily, VARs should strive to offer quality products and services, reliably and timeously, with the aim to reduce their customers` total cost of ownership.
"Core practices could also comprise offering solutions bundles, where the key product may only play a small part. This can include talking to the right people and building influential networks within the customers` organisations, as well as providing easy access to the information customers require. Lastly, VARs need to ensure that they are able to provide valuable business expertise to their customers," she says.
"But in order to fulfil any of these roles for customers, the reseller should focus on knowing their customers inside and out," she continues.
"This means, understanding what the customer really values and knowing who their competitors are, understanding the industry in which they operate and most importantly, the `pain` points in the organisation. Remember also, that organisations have different perceptions of themselves and they expect the products they purchase to reflect a deep understanding of those perceptions," she adds.
"In a nutshell, to be a VAR, you need to broaden your value proposition from providing the preferred products to being the preferred supplier," she says.
"Ultimately, delivering improved customer value does not mean providing more product features or lower prices, it means offering greater value than what the customers knew they wanted or needed," she concludes.
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Advanced Channel Technologies (Pty) Ltd (A.C.T.) is a focused supplier of high quality IT consumables and printers.
The company`s products and value-added services support cost-effective print management, risk management in the data storage arena, and quality output to all media formats, including speciality papers.
A.C.T. is committed to the delivery of world-class products and services to a national network of Premier Business Partners and resellers who address the entire potential market for IT consumables in SA and neighbouring states in the SADC region.
The company operates as a fully-authorised supplier of a comprehensive range of high quality products that are manufactured by the world`s premier brand name vendors.
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