Technology Reseller - v08

01732 759725 Q&A 22 TR: Both those examples are acquisitions. Are your existing resellers taking advantage of these new capabilities? SM: I would absolutely say that we are taking these opportunities to our existing resellers. We are introducing them to these businesses, to the people within these businesses. We often get a phone call, saying ‘I’ve got this opportunity, but I don’t know where to start. Help’ and, for us, that’s the perfect call because that is where we can use our specialist resource and people from right across the group, from the traditional technical AV side within Midwich to the enterprise video broadcast stuff from Holdan to LED from PSCo. We can bring in all of that and use it to help customers deliver the right solution for end users – in many cases a solution that they have probably not sold or even thought about selling previously. TR: When did you start your acquisition strategy? SM: The first acquisition we ever made was back in 2006. That was a business called True Colours Distribution who were a technical AV distributor. At that stage, Midwich was very good at selling display products, endpoints, but the technical products, the glue that sits in-between and makes those systems work, we didn’t have. We identified that if we were going to add real value and help our customers on this journey we would have to be able to provide a complete solution. That underpins our strategy as a specialist distribution business, being able to offer complete and full solutions to our resellers. To do that we recognise that we have to have a high level of specialist resource. TR: You describe Midwich as a specialist distributor. What exactly does that mean? In what ways is the service you offer different to that provided by another distributor? ML: For us, specialist means offering an enhanced value proposition for our customers. At base level, that value proposition would comprise strong logistical capabilities, for example. Then the advanced value proposition might encapsulate specialist resource – experts in the field, which could be a vertical or a technology sector; it could be digital signage, it could be defence, it could be education. Then, in terms of specialist resource, we have to invest heavily in training to make sure we keep abreast of the latest technologies, legislation, trends. Secondly, it’s about demonstration SM: We’ve started to expand into other product technologies through some of the acquisitions we’ve made and that’s where we add value through all we do. We help our resellers identify new opportunities and hand-hold them through that process, ultimately to help them grow their revenues and the profit they can make through new areas that they may not have considered or been involved with previously. ML: Customers look to Midwich to innovate, to bring in new technologies they can take to market. Our job is to simplify that process and break down the barriers to entry for our customers so they can get involved in new and innovative technology areas. One example is LED. That’s still at the early adoption stage. However, it is becoming more prevalent in terms of adoption particularly in the retail and corporate space. PSCo, our LED and rental specialist arm, provides extra layers of support to allow our customers to get involved in this growing area, whereas before they may not have been able to do that. They help customers to specify the right products; they might provide a high level of after-care service; they ensure the product is of sufficient quality – we go out to source and QC the products ourselves. They also have really impressive demonstration facilities, where resellers and their end users can see the products side-by-side. We have a Broadcast arm called Holdan, based in Manchester. We acquired them in 2016 and they do for broadcast exactly what PSCo does for LED. They provide an extra layer of comfort; they have demonstration facilities; regular training; simplified packages and they help traditional AV and IT resellers, as well as broadcast resellers, to take advantage of the trend for companies to in-source video as part of their marketing function. That encapsulates how we invest in the channel to allow our customers to generate extra revenue. capabilities. We provide our customers with access to demonstration facilities and demonstration stock to help our customers to specify the right products. Where some products need to be ordered and specified as part of a large bill of materials, we need specialist capabilities to put that together. We may need to provide on-site pre-sales support to help the reseller. We might have specific service level agreements for aftercare, post-sales support. The net impact of all this allows our customers to take solutions to market, whereas a non- specialist approach might just be about selling products efficiently. TR: Presumably the number of customers you have is going up and up as you acquire new areas of expertise? SM: We trade with a lot of customers and we obviously have a large, diverse range of resellers but we strive to treat all of them the same whether they are our largest vendor customers or one person who spends once a year with us. So, we’ve invested in a team to support some of those smaller customers so that they have equal access to account management, to people on the phone. We’ve done that 1) because they tell us it’s important and 2) because we see a number of our competitors going in completely the opposite direction, driving their customers to e-commerce platforms, forcing them to order electronically. If we are true to our specialist ethos, we have to provide equal access to all customers regardless of size – that’s really important to us. TR: Your specialist approach must also help customers cope with the rapid pace of technological change. SM: Absolutely and LED is a great example. It’s still very much in its infancy. We identified that as a key trend a number of years ago. We’ve invested in that business and invested in the specialist resources to help our customers and hand-hold them through those new technologies as they come to market. ML: acquiring a brand may be relatively easy, but where Midwich excels is that we invest in the infrastructure and support framework for our customers to support it. We don’t take on a product unless we can provide our customers with the support that they need. Customers often ask us what is next and that is where we are striving to provide them with a pipeline of technology. Right now, LED and enterprise video broadcast are two areas at the forefront of that. ...continued Customers look to Midwich to innovate, to bring in new technologies they can take to market. Our job is to simplify that process and break down the barriers to entry for our customers so they can get involved in new and innovative technology areas Stuart Mizon 37