VTech, Ingram Micro to Sell AT&T Products to SMBs

VTech Communications, Inc. – doing business as Advanced American Telephones, which manufactures AT&T-branded home and office telephones under a license agreement with AT&T Intellectual Property – reportedly has entered into a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro Inc., a technology distributor.

 

Thanks to the pact, AT&T (News - Alert) landline telecommunications products would now be available to small-and-medium-size business customers in the United States.

 

“We’re excited to work with Ingram Micro (News - Alert) as this agreement opens an important new distribution channel to reach SMB customers,” said Mike Tierney, vice president of sales at Advanced American Telephones.

 

Tierney believed that SMBs would benefit from cordless phone systems and headsets that offer the best range and sound quality on the market today.

 

Advanced American Telephones officials said that beginning March 1, a variety of AT&T products, including the 2009 line of Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications 6.0 phones and AT&T cordless headsets will be available through Ingram Micro.

 

“AT&T is known for high quality and rich features, with a range of options for SMB offices,” said Kevin Prewett, vice president of vendor management at Ingram.

 

Prewett said that the company is looking forward to expanding its product catalog to include these value-added communication solutions.

 

In March, Ingram had announced its intentions to restructure operations in the Nordic countries of the EMEA region to position the company for greater profitability.

 

Through the restructuring program, Ingram Micro will focus its broad-based distribution operations on the Swedish market while further developing its data capture/point-of-sale business in four Nordic countries.

 

Ingram Micro’s data capture/point-of-sale business, currently the second-largest European distributor in this category, is not affected by the intended restructuring and will continue to have a presence throughout the Nordic area.

 

According to Greg Spierkel, chief executive officer at Ingram, estimated costs and benefits of these actions were incorporated into the worldwide restructuring plan disclosed in February. Annualized savings generated by the worldwide restructuring plan are expected to range from $100 million to $120 million, reaching a full run-rate at the end of 2009, with total related costs estimated at $45 to $65 million.