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GTDC Summit Reveals Tech Distribution Industry TrendsSAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), the largest international consortium of technology distributors, announced key takeaways from its 2018 Summit in San Francisco today. GTDC Summit convenes the leaders of the world’s top IT distributors with the channel executives of technology companies that are moving more and more goods and services through distributors, particularly to effectively reach and support the solution providers now commonly known as the “trusted advisors” of SMBs and many larger enterprises globally. “We’ve seen a poignant shift in how technology distributors are viewed and engaged today,” commented GTDC CEO Tim Curran, who delivered a keynote this morning entitled ‘Delivering New Value in Diversifying Channels.’ “Three decades ago, distributors were typically perceived as pick-pack-ship machines that also extended financing to VARs and other types of resellers,” he said. “Pricing, credit and on-time delivery remain critical, of course, yet by no means define what distributors and solution providers are all about in the digital era. It’s now about strategic problem solving that distributors, solution providers and vendor partners conduct together on all fronts.” As Curran alluded to in his keynote, those fronts include unprecedented innovation in areas ranging from cloud, security and IoT to business intelligence, mobile solutions and hyperconverged infrastructure. “What often gets overlooked is the renewed higher dependency on partnerships for success in the interconnected ecosystems environment. Partnership innovation is as critical as technological breakthroughs,” Curran said. Technology distribution industry trends reflect the progress, as YTD sales in the U.S. are up considerably (based on NPD Distributor Track, which aggregates actual distribution industry sales-outdata including GTDC member business down to the SKU level):
New Report Released on Priming Partnerships in Changing Channels “Vendors are embracing indirect routes to market in unparalleled ways due to the efficiency and value,” Curran explained, noting that the new vendor guide to distribution partnerships was developed over the past eight weeks based on extensive interviews with channel executives, solution providers and distribution leaders worldwide. “The channel’s impact begins with unmatched reach and trusted bonds established with end customers, often over many years,” Curran said. “Solution provider brands are superseding those of individual products, because the total solution is what really matters to end users … ensuring it works as promised or gets there with the channel specialist’s reputation on the line. Distributors and vendor partners need to collectively enable channel success, as it goes to the heart of what everyone in the industry must strive to achieve – the end customer’s ultimate satisfaction.” About the GTDC GTDC MEDIA CONTACT: Chuck Miller (813) 876-0414 [email protected] |