Here's a repost of something I did in the CPQ thread. DELL has managed to develop a significant stealth program with the channels without violating their distribution model. They did it by taking advantage of the current chaos in the channel because of the shift of CPQ, IBM and to a lesser extent HP away from the traditional models, and by taking a leaf out of the CPQ book on programs for small VARs, which DELL can probably actually execute (as opposed to CPQ which will probably announce the programs but deliver poorly if the last 4 months are any indication). With this model DELL does not have to become a channel supplier - they are going to a future "virtual channel" model. I expect them to do well with this approach.
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To: hlpinout (54238 )
From: rudedog Sunday, Mar 21 1999 11:39AM ET
Reply # 54318 of 54319
There are an estimated 40,000 small VARs in the US market alone. In total, they ship about half of the reseller products (the rest are done by the "big 8"). Depending on the definition of "White box" these vendors do somewhere between 40 and 60% of their business as white box sales. The definition varies because some VARs assemble systems which are nominally mainstream, but use only a skeleton - i.e. a box with nothing but a motherboard and case, and add everything else including the CPU. Some count those as white boxes, some do not.
But in any event, the CRN "POLL" which included less than 300 of the 40,000 VARs seems like an unlikely sample. DELL could have significantly swung the perception with a few targeted programs.
None the less, DELL has finally started to show some interest in the reseller channel, and their programs mimic the CPQ programs - lease deals and referral fees which help VARs to make money without actually taking a markup on the DELL hardware. DELL is obviously interested in effectively addressing the needs of these customers |
