Ingram Micro reaches out to resellers at its 12th ExpoTech

No matter how convincing the argument, resellers remain sceptical when vendors and distributors claim their foremost priority is looking after partners. We’ve heard it all before, from banks to telemarketers, almost everyone professes to have our best interests in mind. To differentiate itself in the market and portray a “we practice what we preach” image, Ingram Micro launched its annual IT & T trade exhibition 12 years ago.

The Ingram Micro ExpoTech 2008 event attracted more than 1000 resellers to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour. The highlight for many attendees was the opportunity to interact with vendors seeking advice and occasionally venting frustrations. According to Ingram Micro, ExpoTech provides a venue for informal networking that serves to enhance partner relationships.

In addition to face-to-face contact with vendor representatives, resellers were also eager to sample the latest technologies and high-tech toys on the market.

Spiro Gouritotis, managing director for Torstar, related how the event was a valuable training exercise for his employees.

“I brought my staff with me as I see this as a great training opportunity in terms of product knowledge,” he said. “To be able to experience first hand the products we’re trying to sell is valuable for us. We’re out in Penrith and we don’t often get a chance to play with stuff before we get it in the store.”

He added that ExpoTech is an enjoyable social event where he can meet up with existing contacts as well as strike up new relationships.

“[At ExpoTech] I can meet new people and make contacts that could lead to future deals. I can also catch up with people I already deal with,” he said.

Participating vendors included Acer, Adaptec, ASUS, CA, Cisco, D-Link, Epson, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Lexmark, Linksys, Oki, Microsoft, Netgear, Samsung, Sony, Symantec, Toshiba, Trend Micro, VMWare and, of course, distributor Ingram Micro.