|
Tempe, AZ -- Distributor's Focus on Enabling Partner Success with Services & Financing Pays Off with IBM Leadership Awards
Avnet Hall-Mark, the leading worldwide value-added distributor of IBM enterprise computing products, storage, software and services, today announced it has won the prestigious Services Leadership Award from IBM for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, Avnet received IBM Global Financing's 2002 Business Partner Trophy award. Avnet Hall-Mark received the awards in a worldwide ceremony hosted by IBM Global Services during IBM PartnerWorld 2003, held Feb. 16-19 in New Orleans.
The Services award is given only once per year to one IBM mid-range distributor in North America for demonstrating leadership in services sales, which includes performance excellence in consistent volume growth, customer satisfaction, quality processes and adherence to IBM compliance guidelines.
Avnet Hall-Mark's executive team continues to place a strong focus on IBM Services as a vital and growing component of their VAR (value-added reseller) business portfolio. "Services represented a tremendous success story for us and our partners in 2002," said Fred J. Cuen, senior vice president and general manager ofAvnet Hall-Mark's IBM Business Unit. "Last year we experienced significant growth in the IBM Services business because our VARs consistently included a services component in their proposals, which creates a morecomplete solution for their customer, not only satisfying their customers' needs, but also increasing their revenues and profitability."
As an example, he cited the case of two Avnet VARs, Sirius Computer Solutions, headquartered in San Antonio, and CMA, headquartered in Baton Rouge, La. Both are Premier IBM Business Partners that have made a focused effort on increasing their services business -- and both have won the IBM Services Leadership award for resellers. According to Cuen, in 2002, Sirius achieved year-to-year growth of 68 percent; CMA sales of IBM Services represented a year-to-year growth rate of 277 percent. "When you look at what these two VARs have achieved in terms of year-to-year growth and increased clothing rates, their results were just outstanding!"
Avnet Hall-Mark grew its total IBM Services and Financing business at a robust rate during 2002, and helped a number of its partners to make the successful transition to investing in and selling both IBM Services and IBM Financing solutions.
According to Bill Smith, the general manager for IBM Global Financing Americas, the financing award recognizes those Business Partners who have not only contributed significant financing volumes, but have demonstrated leadership in leveraging IBM Global Financing (IGF) to deliver value to customers and win in the marketplace. Avnet grew its share of sales financed with IGF by 10 points in 2002, up to 49 percent.
"Avnet continues to clearly differentiate itself in the marketplace as a leader in packaging services for IBM," said John Pratt, vice president of Channel Services, IGS Americas. "Their dedication, commitment, and investment drove year-to-year growth up 26 percent across the marketplace and is a clear reason why they have been so successful in the Small and Medium Business (SMB) marketplace."
"Avnet's management team has invested in service packaging at the time of sale, renewal and in the aftermarket of the solution engagement," Pratt added. "This three-pronged strategy coupled with the strength of applications that Avnet Hall-Mark's Solution Providers sell and support says that 2003 in the SMB marketplace will be a banner year for them again. Four years in a row of winning an award is no accident; it's hard work with intensive customer focus."
About Avnet Hall-Mark
Headquartered in Tempe, Avnet Hall-Mark is an industry-leading, value-added distributor of enterprise servers, storage, software and services, marketing exclusively to the reseller channel. Avnet Hall-Mark is a division of the $2.4 billion Avnet Computer Marketing operating group of Avnet Inc. (NYSE:AVT), one of the world's largest technology marketing, distribution and services companies. Avnet's sales for fiscal 2002 (year ended June 30) were $8.9 billion. For more information about Avnet Hall-Mark, visit: www.hallmark.avnet.com.
|
Technology Solutions News