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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hlpinout who wrote (88729)	1/9/2001 7:07:00 AM
From: hlpinout	Respond to of 97611

In Cutthroat Volume Game, Distribs Play a Tough Position By Peter Bochner, CRN 1:45 PM EST Mon., Jan. 08, 2001 When a product is on back order, who's at fault: the distributor or the vendor? A reader named Anthony today raised that question in response to a recent talkback. In that talkback, reader Craig noted that Compaq "still hasn't shipped the IPAQ H3650 models we've had on back order with Ingram [Micro] since Aug. 2 or the related PC Card expansion accessory since Sept. 5, even though the consumer models of these products have been in local stores for months." Added Craig, "If Compaq really wants to fix its tarnished image with the channel it should borrow an idea from Nike and 'Just Ship It'." But Anthony writes, "Maybe it's not Compaq who's at fault. How can you be sure that Ingram Micro actually ordered them from Compaq to fulfill your back order? [In today's economic climate], it's likely major low-end hardware distributors will only place orders with their vendor and stock inventory for fulfillment when they see a profitable demand for them. " Anthony continues, asking Craig, "How many did you order? What kind of relationship do you have with Ingram? In a cutthroat volume game, distributors play a tough position. They have no margins left, and need high volume to stay alive. Noticed there aren't many distributors left? Perhaps they've blown out Compaq's flame to make theirs burn much brighter, in your eyes, to keep your business. Wake up Craig! If you need Compaq that bad, go direct! In fact they encourage it to eliminate this behavior from their distribs!"