SYNNEX Introduces New VAR Services

(Greenville, SC) — With recent acquisitions of Concentrix, Link2Support, and PC Wholesale in the past few months, SYNNEX Corp. is offering many new services to its VAR partners. The distributor's executives discussed the details at the recent SYNNEX National Conference. 

The addition of Link2Support, a Philippines-based technical support and contact center organization, allows SYNNEX to provide voice, e-mail, technical, and presales support, as well as lead generation and software licensing for VARs, ISVs (independent software vendors), and vendors. "BPO [business process outsourcing] allows smaller solutions providers to augment their existing services to better compete with larger organizations," says Chris Caldwell, senior VP of global business development for SYNNEX Corp. With the shortage of quality technical employees and the challenge of retaining them, some VARs are concentrating resources on their most profitable customers. That means the distributor may be a cost-effective option for new service offerings, compared to the investment required by VARs to establish their own. Using a BPO service to provide support to some customers or for help desk assistance for certain technologies is an option to consider. For example, a VAR that had a shortage of SAP-certified technicians could use the BPO help desk to support those applications.

Consider Reconditioned Hardware As An Option
Referred to as 'end-of-life' product, refurbished computer equipment may help improve the margins of innovative VARs. SYNNEX, with its purchase of PC Wholesale, offers refurbished notebooks, desktops, printers, LCDs, consumer electronics, and other IT equipment to solutions providers. "Ninety-nine percent of these items are factory reconditioned and come with a 90-day warranty," says Steve Heslop, VP with SYNNEX. "Most of these products come from terminated or expired leases and are virtually indistinguishable from new." If you have customers that shop on price and won't mind refurbished products, the significant discounts may give you a competitive advantage. VARs can review the inventory of reconditioned products on the distributor's e-commerce site (EC Express) to ensure the  product is available. If your customers are open to the inclusion of reconditioned components in your solutions offering, it may be a cost-effective way to meet their budget needs.