In a recent visit to Toronto, Bob Dutkowsky, CEO of TechData and Rick Reid, President of TechData Canada sat down with Julian Lee of e-channelNEWS.com and ecntv.ca to discuss TechData’s channel plans and outlook for 2012.
Bob Dutkowsky outlined some key focuses for TechData. Flawless logistic execution where 99% of orders are shipped the same day. Diversification in key areas such as data centre, mobility, commercial software and consumer electronics. The business has evolved into half from the diversification areas and half in broad-line business.
“In many ways, our global strategy is embodied here in Canada as completely as anywhere else in the World” Says Bob Dutkowsky, CEO Tech Data USA. “Rick’s (Reid) team is consistently at the top of the list of the over 100 countries in which TechData operates.” Adds Bob Dutkowsky.
“It’s great to see distributors like Tech Data evolving to meet the needs of the VARS. It is important to help the channel navigate through emerging markets such as cloud and managed services” Commented Julian Lee, President of TechnoPlanet and their news media divisions e-ChannelNEWS and ecnTV. TechData’s software solution (StreamOne) and infrastructure configuration services can take out some of the heavy workload from VARS so they can focus on selling more as well as managing relationships with their customers.
As the next generation enters the end-user and channel workforce, they will be looking to do more business in the cloud. To them, the Internet is the cornerstone of their relationships. This may be one of the next big tipping points in the channel. Already about half of TechData business is already done online and this is also reflected in most other leading distributors. Cloud and managed services are all leveraging the Internet to market and deliver services. TechData’s complete catalogue of products are available in real-time to resellers in both Canada and USA through SaaS e-commerce platforms such as ibiz10 (see www.ibiz10.com). “We are seeing a lot more resellers adapting their business model to leverage the Internet to sell hardware, software and services” Comments Julian Lee. Software management solutions like Tech Data’s StreamOne is yet another example of how Resellers can continue to leverage the Internet to drive business.
Bob Dutkowsky discussing Tech-Data’s plans for the year
Rick Reid, President of TechData Canada comments “When we moved into our facilities over 10 years ago, we decided to invest in our configuration capabilities to help the channel in complex large-scale deployments”. TechData now has close to 20,000 square feet of configuration space with ISO 9000 certification. Any VAR or Vendor doing a large deployment in Canada can leverage the facility to ensure the implementation work is done correctly. “Every day, we help resellers with logistics and configuration to save them time and cost”. Adds Rick Reid. Watch the entire interview on www.ecntv.ca
Videos
Tech Data Interview Part 1
Tech Data Interview Part 2
Keystones to Success Presentation
Global Trends and the Canadian Market Presentation
