I did say 'hell hath no fury like a Pissed of Channel-guy'-By Mo Shakespear.
Say did I mention Comapq is deep 'do..do',so is HP,GTW and....
Paul:
Did I say this before,oh well what the heck.Some BOLD points of note.
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DIRECT SALES STRATEGY NOT LIKELY TO BE A WINNER FOR COMPAQ.
Predicts Channel Advocate
Business Editors & High-Tech Writers
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1998--The recent move by Compaq Computer toward a direct sales strategy is a misguided reaction to market forces, said David R. Dukes, chairman of the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC).
Established in 1998, the GTDC's members include market share leaders in information technology (IT) distribution from around the world. Among one of the most important objectives of the council is to give voice to key industry issues, such as establishing standards in electronic commerce, while also being a powerful advocate of the IT channel and the value it adds for customers.
According to Dukes, an 18-year veteran of the IT industry, the new Compaq strategy to sell a portion of its products directly to customers rather than through distributors and resellers may pay some dividends in the short term. "But, within the year, it could cost them significant loss of market share, as they experience the difficulty of competing with their resellers," he said.
Compaq is embarking on a strategy that is not cost effective and one from which other vendors ultimately have backed away, Dukes said. "Their new strategy apparently fails to recognize several important factors, including the powerful relationships which resellers have with their customers (the ability to influence brand preference), as well as the importance of third-party products offered by resellers and distributors, which are critical to providing customers a complete solution. "It is surprising that Compaq seems to have forgotten what drove them to No. 1 market share -- the blend of their great products complemented by their unwavering commitment to the channel," Dukes said.
According to Dukes, the question now becomes who will benefit from Compaq's new strategy. "Will Hewlett Packard, IBM and other vendors implement programs to strengthen their commitment to the channel? Or will they follow Compaq's move? Should they do so, the current momentum of channel assembly and white boxes will become an absolute tidal wave as market share begins to shift dramatically," Dukes said.
The current members of the GTDC include: Actebis, Gates/Arrow Distributing, a subsidiary of Arrow Electronics Inc., CHS Electronics Inc., Computer 2000 AG, Electronic Resources Ltd., Ingram Micro Inc., Merisel Inc., Pinacor, Scribona, Siltek Distribution Dynamics, Softbank Corp., Synnex Information Technologies, Tech Data Corp. and Tech Pacific Holdings Ltd.
In addition to being an industry advocate, another major goal of the GTDC is to enable and drive the adoption of open and common business processes across the global information technology supply chain, while also creating understandable industry performance benchmarks on the entire supply chain.
As a first step, the GTDC has sponsored an independent, self- funded, non-profit global consortium called RosettaNet, which is creating common business interfaces, including content and transaction rules and a vocabulary for companies that buy and sell IT related products.
Since early 1998, RosettaNet has attracted the support of 40 leading companies, including manufacturers, software vendors, resellers, distributors and bankers from every part of the technology industry supply chain.
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