Andrew Harris, chief sales and marketing officer, DCC Technologies.
The longer I work in ICT distribution, the more I see a familiar pattern. When pressure rises, people speed up. They launch quickly, they commit quickly, they react quickly. But speed without structure rarely delivers what the business hoped for. In most cases, it simply shifts the problem further down the line.
Scaling is not difficult. Scaling well is. And the difference usually comes down to whether the organisation slowed down long enough to understand what it was building towards.
Over the past year, I have noticed the same theme coming through in conversations with resellers and vendors. Everyone is trying to do more, and they are trying to do it faster. New product ranges, expanded services, tighter customer turnaround times and bigger targets. But when you peel it back, much of this urgency is driven by pressure rather than preparedness. It shows up in teams trying to implement change while still carrying outdated processes, or in businesses taking on growth without the structure to support it. That gap between ambition and readiness is where most problems begin.
I have seen this across the channel. A reseller expands its range before its processes are ready. A vendor pushes new programmes faster than partners can absorb them. A distributor tries to run multiple change initiatives at once. All of it looks like progress until the cracks appear: inconsistent service, stock mismatches, staff who are overwhelmed or customers who begin to lose confidence.
Slowing down is not about hesitation. It is about being deliberate. It is about asking the questions that prevent avoidable mistakes later, and about strengthening the base so that when the pace increases, the organisation can handle it.
1. Clarity is worth more than speed
Too many decisions in the channel are made quickly but without enough context. What does the customer actually need? What behaviour are we trying to change? Who will be affected internally? If we do not understand these things, we end up correcting assumptions rather than building momentum. Time spent clarifying a problem repays itself many times over.
2. Strong foundations make scaling predictable
Growth exposes weaknesses quickly. When processes, systems or teams are already stretched, any increase in volume amplifies the pressure. I have seen businesses expand faster than their structures can support, and the result is almost always the same: duplication, inconsistency and unnecessary strain.
Taking time to strengthen the basics makes a noticeable difference. When data is reliable, processes are clear and teams are aligned, scaling feels controlled rather than chaotic. It gives the organisation the confidence to grow at a pace it can sustain.
3. Alignment beats urgency every time
Some of the strongest results I saw over the past year came from slowing things down long enough to align with vendors and resellers. When everyone understands the expectations, the skills required and the commercial outcomes, execution becomes far more reliable. Rushing this alignment is one of the easiest ways to create miscommunication and rework.
The channel does not need more haste. It needs more confidence. And confidence comes from knowing that the decisions you make today will still make sense when the pressure increases tomorrow.
The companies that thrive in 2026 will be the ones that get the basics right before they push for more. In a channel that is moving quickly and becoming more complex, clarity and alignment matter far more than speed alone.
If you want growth that can carry real weight, the smartest step may be to pause, get the structure right and then move with purpose. That is how scale becomes an advantage instead of a strain.
