ScanSource Stresses The Importance Of Partnerships

(Charleston, SC) — Busy? If you're the owner of your own business, there's a good chance you're juggling the responsibilities of manager, leader, maybe even salesperson or technician. If you're not the owner, you don't have it any easier. In fact, it's probable that you're staring at a never-ending list of to-do's (on top of your normal duties) that might take years to accomplish. With VARs being so busy, it's an unfortunate truth that many don't have the time to learn about what their vendors and other VARs are doing to be successful. Aside from reading Business Solutions magazine, a great way to improve your business chops is to attend conferences if you have the time. I had the opportunity to attend ScanSource's "Partners in Tune" leadership conference recently and found it to be an excellent example of an effective way to gain valuable business-related knowledge.

"Over the last couple of years, we've changed the agenda of the meetings we have with our top partners away from products," said Mike Baur, president and CEO of value-added distributor (VAD) ScanSource. "Even though everyone needs to have at least some product education, we know we have a limited amount of time with the customer. The more valuable conversations tend to be about how, as a VAR, you're going to be successful over the next year. What do you need, and what are your pain points? We rarely hear, 'you know, we need a new printer.'" That said, the VAD has shifted to formats that allow for more business education and networking among peers. The push is on to deliver conference content of the consultative nature and bring people together. "We've learned that out of these meetings come new and stronger relationships," said Baur.

These stronger relationships are what can help your business succeed. Look no further than Rodger Jenkins. Jenkins and his company, Excalibur Integrated Systems, were featured in Business Solutions in the September 2007 issue. (Click here to read the article.) In that article, Jenkins credits a large part of his success to the relationship he's formed with his vendor and distributor partners. In this case, the distributor was ScanSource. "When Rodger Jenkins came to us, he was having challenges with financing," recounted Baur. "Our credit guys worked with him to understand his strategy so we could give him more credit than his financials would support." Jenkins understood then what ScanSource told its partners at the "Partners in Tune" conference — the more information you share with your partners, the better. "There are a lot of small VARs who don't want to share their financials or access to their people, but we've found that the more you share with us, the better," said Baur. "We're not going to make any rash decisions, but the more you can tell us about how your business is trending, the more likely we are to find ways to help you." This doesn't simply extend to established VARs. Baur knows that the future of the industry relies on new companies coming in with new ideas. "We want to lessen the barrier to entry for small VARs who are just starting," explained Baur. "Our job is to give VARs a chance to prove their business model will work."

— Mike Monocello
POS and Supply Chain Technologies Editor