Ingram's SA/ACT office closures not a big worry for resellers

However, a couple of resellers told CRN that the closures won't affect their business at all.

According to John Walters, director of sales and marketing for Ingram the distributor was realigning its "resources according to the current market conditions".

It has lost seven people in Adelaide but will keep five for that region; two commercial sales reps, two retail sales representatives and one solutions architect.

In Canberra, Walters said, Ingram had lost three people but was keeping two sales reps to focus on the region.

The distributor was rehiring people in Sydney and Melbourne to cover the branch closures in those two areas.

"Key managers are either leaving or moving into other areas of the business," claimed Walters.

"People in Adelaide and Canberra have the opportunity to reapply for the new jobs that have been created in Melbourne and Sydney and a couple of people have already shown interest.

"The feedback from employees is what you'd expect. People are very surprised but we have got to make a business decision to go forward."

Walters claims it has been a very tough week to end long standing relationships.

"We had to stand up and make some tough decisions to avoid giving customers a poor level of service," he claimed.

Andy Mckiggan, owner of KickStart Computers (aka Bandit Technology), a South Australian based reseller, told CRN it didn't make any difference to his business where Ingram's sales representatives were located.

"Our clients are spread nationwide, so we're not really affected. Although to be honest it's always nice to be able to call local sales reps, above interstate ones.

"However, most of our correspondence with Ingram has been over email and we don't make that many calls to the office.

"The majority of Ingram's stock is held in the Sydney warehouse, so it doesn't matter where its offices are located."

According to Mckiggan, Ingram's move was understandable, as the downturn in economy has 'everyone looking at long term savings'.

"If having only a few locations can save the company - monetary wise - then it's the way to go," he said.

"There's no stock held by Ingram in South Australia so its sales reps can be anywhere in Australia.

"The only thing to change is the price of a phone call and even then resellers will just have to get VoIP to get cheaper rates on interstate calls."

Lea Zangl, manager at Canberra based reseller, EBM Computers, said he was surprised to hear the distributor had an office in ACT.

"I have never had a phone number for the ACT office so I have never had the opportunity to call those sales representatives.

"Ingram is just one of our suppliers. We do have an account with it but not a big deal.

"I tend to call the Sydney office or the one in Melbourne if I need a product from the distributor."

However Leigh Johnson, operations manager at SA-based, A and R Computer Services, said, it has had a long standing relationship with Ingram Micro and will continue to purchase all existing stock lines from the distie.

"However there are many effects losing local staff has had on A&R when other distributors have gone down this path," he said.

"These include; difficulty in growing new business opportunities; a genuine understanding of our business and the ability to escalate issues for a quick resolution.

"Many distributors in the Eastern States without Adelaide representation do not know we are a retailer with six stores and advertise regularly on TV."

Walters said the distributor will grow in Canberra and Adelaide again.

"I have no idea when this will be but we will open offices again if the market opportunity resurfaces."

The closure of the offices rolls off the back of Ingram Australia's announcement of general restructuring across the company.

Jay Miley, vice president and managing director A/NZ Ingram told CRN that although the percentage of redundancies was almost exactly the same as the US parent company, which retrenched eight percent of its 1000-strong workforce on 18 February, the decisions at the Australian division were made independently.

"I report to the regional headquarters in Singapore and we're given a significant amount of autonomy," said Miley.

He said the restructuring was a proactive step to make the distributor more nimble in responding to customers' demands.

The redundancies should not be seen as a cost-cutting exercise forced upon the company by its financial results or the recession.

"The times are challenging, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't read too much into the state of the channel from Ingram's restructuring," said Miley.

The Ingram MD has spent the past month talking to partners in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, and after Adelaide is heading to Perth.

He had heard good and bad news from resellers, depending mostly on their areas of business.

"It's a mixed bag out there it depends on what niche you have and what you're providing to the marketplace," said Miley.

"Some are positioned in categories that are going to grow, others are going down," said Miley.

With additional reporting from Sholto Macpherson, editor at CRN.