Greg Davis, Dell‘s (NASDAQ: DELL) worldwide channel chief and Rick Reid, Tech Data Canada (NASDAQ: TECD) Canada’s president were, two unlikely executives unlikely to partner with each other. But partner they did.
Dell had always been at best lukewarm to the idea of working with distribution, while Reid once ago said it could never happen.
Both were instrumental in crafting a new direction for Dell in the channel in Canada that sees selected Dell products available thru Tech Data Canada. Shortly after, Ingram Micro Canada partnered with Dell. Both Canadian operations were carrying Dell product by springtime.
Dell’s distribution agreements were part of its global PartnerDirect program, which has more than 35,000 registered partners in 148 countries. Currently, there are just under 1,400 Canadian partners who are part of the program.
Davis said speed to market was one reason for the deals.
For Reid it was a case of meeting the demands of the resellers base.
But for Dell in Canada, a distributor such as Tech Data would offer best cost-effective way for the former direct vendor to capitalize on that demand.
By sourcing all IT solutions–including Dell–through Tech Data, Dell partners will have access to its entire solutions offering and extensive services, including billions in credit capacity, best-in-class e-business tools and technical training.