Computer Reseller News
June 16, 1997
LENGTH: 842 words
HEADLINE: It's APC For UPS -- Vendor Swamps Competition With High Scores For
Channel Programs
BYLINE: Sarah Juon
BODY:
American Power Conversion is on a power roll. Not only did this fast-
growing company increase sales by 37 percent during the past year, it worked its
magic on the channel, receiving a 6.0 rating in this year's Channel Champions
survey and scoring a repeat victory in the UPS product category.
APC beat out rival Tripp Lite Manufacturing Inc., which had an overall
satisfaction score of 5.6, in all eight areas of the survey.
Both companies increased their satisfaction scores over last year. The rating
for APC, West Kingston, R.I., improved from last year's 5.7 to 6.0.
Chicago-based Tripp Lite moved up from 5.5 to 5.6.
APC scored its highest rating, 6.3, in product quality. It also received a
6.2 in product availability. Its widest margin of victory, however, came in
co-op marketing, where it outscored Tripp Lite 5.7 to 5.0.
VARs have crowned APC the Channel Champion four years in a row. And APC's
scores improved in six out of eight areas this year.
APC maintained its high standing among resellers in product quality and
reliability with a 6.3 rating.
"We've never had any problems with APC, ever," said Jeffrey Morgan, vice
president of Advanced Micro Services, Sheffield, Ala.
Brett Lin, manager of Formedia, Seattle, added, "Their reliability was good
to begin with."
"We used to sell Tripp Lite but stopped because APC functioned better for us.
They're good," said Kenneth Parsons, chief executive of Parservco Enterprises, Toledo, Ohio.
Several resellers also mentioned their satisfaction with Tripp Lite's product
quality.
"I will keep selling something until it breaks, and Tripp Lite products hold
out," said Robert Liebscher, owner of TLC Communications Inc., Issaquah, Wash.
APC has placed a "huge emphasis" on quality, according to Bryan West, North
America corporate channel manager for the company. APC has always been ISO 9000
certified, West said, but recently the company embarked on a leadership quality
program to implement the process of continual improvement.
In price/performance, APC scored a 6.1 to Tripp Lite's 5.8 "I'm glad to see
this was a high-ranking area," said West. "But quite frankly, this must be a
value perception because we have not really lowered prices significantly."
VARs seem happy with APC's pricing. "They've always been aggressive price-
wise," said Morgan.
In upgradability and compatibility, APC came out on top with a score of 5.9
to Tripp Lite's 5.5. Most VARs reported having no issues with either company
in this area. West said APC has worked hard on compatibility.
West pointed out that the company's popular Smart-UPS units cover Unix, NT
and Novell platforms in one box at no extra charge to the customer.
Product availability was a tighter race, but APC won with a score of 6.2 to
6.0. "Over the past year, we had a phenomenal take-off of our Back-UPS Office
product, more than we anticipated by leaps and bounds," said West.
VARs said they had little problem in obtaining APC products.
In channel program categories, APC won by wide margins.
Many VARs expressed gratitude that they had never had to use APC's technical
support because the products had never given them any problems.
Advanced Micro's Morgan said, "We've sent back maybe 10 in four years."
He said that APC's technical support is excellent. "They are one of the few
places I've called where you don't have to go through voice mail after voice
mail," he said. "The reason why we use APC specifically and nobody else is
because of their tech support."
West said the company targeted technical support for improvement over the
past year, by increasing both employees and training programs for staffers.
Return policies proved to be another dynamic area for APC, which saw its
satisfaction rating increase to 6.1 from 5.4 last year.
"If they feel something is wrong with the UPS . . . we get the new unit
before we ship back their defective product," Morgan said.
West said returns have to be handled competently in a product category that
emphasizes reliability.
"A company that sells reliability had better be reliable if you have trouble
with the product," West said.
APC also received praise for its trade-up program, in which a VAR can send in
an old UPS-even a competitor's brand-and exchange it for a new UPS for the price
of a battery swap.
In this year's survey, APC made its greatest ratings leap in the area of
co-op marketing, soaring to 5.7 from 4.8. West attributed this to the company's
proactive stance in the channel. West also pointed to a number of initiatives the company has taken in areas
such as sales incentives, special promotions and advertising.
APC's strong quality score and significant improvement in channel scores make
it a tough Channel Champion to dethrone. Even so, the fact that scores were
close in some areas suggests that competitors will be eager to exploit any weak
points. |
