Dell partner program gets a B+

A WA-based Dell reseller, Accord, told CRN that there were pros and cons to working directly with a top-tier vendor. Accord's managing director Mike Ford said he gave the vendor's channel performance to date a "B+".

On the positive side, there is no distributor to deal with. Resellers can pick up the phone and talk directly to the vendor.

"We feel we're in control and we've got the name of the people who can make things happen," said Ford, who has met Dell's national sales manager.

Accord has been reselling Dell exclusively for six years, mainly servers, SAN and storage.

Distribution adds an extra layer to communications which is less efficient and sometimes results in inflexible systems, added Ford.

Resellers can make one order for 300 PCs with different configurations. Other vendors such as HP only allow for one single config per order, said Accord's Steve Crockett, director technical services.

Because all Dell gear is made to order, the technology is always the latest rather than the stock the distributor is trying to clear.

The flip side is delivery times are longer; typical wait times are 10 to 14 days, but can sometimes stretch out to a month. Distributors give resellers the option of airfreighting critical equipment overnight.

Ford said it might keep some Dell PCs in stock as a buffer for customers who want a small order in a short timeframe. For company-wide refreshes, waiting half a month is not a big deal, said Ford.

Another reseller, Nick Clift at Ballarat based DWM, agreed that direct contact with the vendor made a big difference to communication.

"I talk with the account manager all the time," said Clift, who was a Dell systems integrator for five years before moving into the channel nine months ago.

Dell's deal registration process is a simpler affair than other vendors, added Clift. Dell gives price protection, it might be 2-5 percent depending on the deal. Deals can be registered for 60 days with the option of extending another 60 days.

Deal registration - channel partners 60 days option to extend another 60 days.

There are no guarantees from IBM or HP on those terms, said Clift. HP deal registration only happened "if the sales guy wanted to help you out on the day", said Clift.

Dell is also compensating direct sales staff every time a reseller makes a sale as a way of reducing competition between the indirect and direct channels. 

"The fact that they get compensated internally takes the bitchiness away," said Clift, whose business is 80 percent local government and 20 percent with small businesses under 100 seats.

Dell's tiered partner program is "as simple as it gets," said Rob Makin, Dell's Australian channel strategy manager.

Makin said Dell had instigated deal registration and payments to direct sales staff for partner sales as a signal that the vendor was committed to the channel.

Makin said the company had extremely strong governance and confidentiality of information, and visibility of deals was not given to direct sales until they had been approved.

The vendor had also restricted the number of partners to reduce the amount of competition within its indirect channel.

"If a partner wants to sell HP there are probably 12 other people who can sell HP in a 5km radius at the same price," said Makin. However, he refused to reveal exactly how many partners Dell has signed.

Dell also refused to give the figures for its direct sales in Australia, but it was a "sizeable number", said Makin.