Moroccan Imagination by Ingram Micro

Ingram Micro, the third largest IT distributor in the country, held its annual meet " Let’s Imagine More" for 100-odd channel partners at Marrakech, Morocco in early April. Combining business with pleasure, the company also announced its TOPS scheme at the event.

Ingram Micro’s " Let’s Imagine More" annual dealer con ference
focused on the fact that there is a huge untapped potential in the Indian
market. This can be converted to business by good leadership, innovation and
management practices.

Kicking off the conference, outgoing President of Ingram Micro India Ltd (IMIL),
Prasad Mamidanna emphasized the need to bring in much more innovation into
channel practices. Giving a keynote address Cyber Media’s Editor-in-Chief,
Shyam Malhotra raised the issue of inadequate solutions for end-customers and
the fact that market development activities were not happening in adequate
measure.

Indranil Chaudhary, the finance chief of IMIL presented the need for improved
finance management–a topic that caught the fancy of many partners and provoked
many questions. S P Rajguru, COO, IMIL promised continued support to partners in
terms of innovative schemes and market development.

CREATING VALUE

The conference also included two panel discussions anchored by Shrish Joshi
of Cisco and Sharad Srivastava of Seagate. The first one ‘Let’s Create Value’
focused on the need to enhance cross selling opportunities and integrate the
technology pillars of networking, computing, storage, security and software
especially for the SMB market. The general conclusion was that would happen when
resellers with specific skill sets in any of these areas got together and
addresses customers in alliances.

The second one entitled ‘Lets Go Downstream’ identified growing markets
and articulated the role of vendors, distributors and business partners in
emerging markets. Products being offered by leading vendors like Samsung, IBM
and others were highlighted through unique skits performed by members of the
Ingram Micro team and the representatives of vendors at the conference.

The enthusiasm of the ‘actors’ and the innovativeness of the script more
than made up for the amateur acting talent on display many of whom were on the
stage for the first time.

TIME FOR FUN TOO

To ensure that no time was wasted the entire contingent was taken through
tours of Casablanca and Marakkech. The highlight was a trip to a snow-covered
peak in the Atlas mountains where the mist closed in leaving an entire busload
of snow enthusiasts with snow flakes on their hair. In terms of interest and
excitement it left the belly dancing, flying carpets, acrobatic horsemen and
sumptuous food behind.

Traditional belly dance at the Let’s Imagine conference

The major announcement at the meet was TOPS–Technology Optimized
Productivity Solutions–a scheme that aims at providing cost effective IT
solutions, ensuring savings and optimum utilization of IT infrastructure.

Focusing on the problems faced by customers in adapting to rapidly changing
technology options Ingram Micro through its partners plans to offer ‘complete,
end to end suite of innovative and cost effective solutions ensuring optimum
utilization of your present resources and application of the latest technology’.

Vendors highlighting their products through unique skits

Under this plan it will study the present infrastructure of the customer, do
the need analysis, propose a solution, give a proposal for buy back and disposal
of present infrastructure and implement the new technologies.

The customer’s benefit in the bargain is that old products, which become
limiting factors in the absence of any worthwhile buy backs, will be taken away
at a reasonable value. Ingram’s benefit is that it will be able to supply new
products and also have a service offering.

Considering that selling only products is an extremely low margins market the
scheme holds promise for the future. Globally there are companies that offer
similar solutions to customers by way of leasing options in which a take back of
the existing equipment is ensured. In India there have not been many offerings
of this nature in a formal manner though some informal arrangements are worked
out between the reseller and the purchaser. The scheme will cover a whole range
of product options from leading vendors with whom Ingram has tie ups. The old
products will be sold in the secondary market.

DQCI REPORT from MOROCCO