Hard-drive maker Maxtor is engaging with a partner relationship management (PRM) partner to improve its channel relationships both domestically and on a worldwide basis.
The US-based storage vendor is joining US PRM ChannelWave to help increase channel communications as its channel continues to expand, especially in the retail white-box space, said Stephen DiFranco, Maxtor's vice-president of corporate marketing and branding.
By working with ChannelWave, Maxtor essentially bought a global channel tool, said Rob Hagen, CEO of the PRM provider.
Included in Maxtor's new program is a closed-loop lead management system that can pass leads to specific partners based on their profiles, Hagen said. The new program also includes partner metrics tracking, partner recruitment tools, order taking, inventory management and partner communications, he said.
Such tools reduce a significant part of the expense that vendors and channel partners incur in maintaining their relationships, including the hassle partners face when trying to look into the manufacturer's inventory and take advantage of sales leads, Hagen said.
Maxtor plans to roll out its PRM program to Asia later in February, with Europe scheduled for early April and the United States for June, DiFranco said. Asia comes first for the program because Maxtor had virtually no formal channel mechanism there in the past, he said.
Maxtor is the first customer to sign with ChannelWave since its December merger with Aqueduct, a provider of e-commerce software. Maxtor had previously worked with Aqueduct before that merger, DiFranco said.
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