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Engaged? You should be! Here's a frequently heard complaint from independent resellers. "Vendors and distributors just don't want to listen to us little guys". And how's this for a moan from just about every vendor: "It's virtually impossible to engage with the resellers". Does it strike you that there might just be some common ground here? Let's toss in another little group of factettes. PCA member Bear IT was originally set up 7 years ago; they now have enough business to support 12 staff - mostly technicians. They have won a raft of business awards both locally and nationally. The two directors attend every PCA event without fail and are now on first name terms with key people from leading vendors and distributors and their views are sought by suppliers and industry publications alike. Should we consider Bear IT's success to be merely a spookily strange coincidence worthy of Mulder & Sculley or is there a simpler, more prosaic explanation? The latter option seems the most likely. Here's what Adam Harris of Bear IT has to say about it: "PCA membership has been absolutely great for us, it has opened doors that otherwise we'd never have known existed; it has facilitated business in several different areas. We'd never dream of missing a PCA fostered networking opportunity." Adam's business partner Mark Lambert is equally enthusiastic. "Our very modest PCA membership fee has been paid for many times over by the benefit we've got from being part of the channel's trade association. Anyone who wants to know more is welcome to contact me or Adam directly on 0870 4436 967. I'm always up for a bit of networking whether it's with suppliers or fellow resellers". As Mark indicates, a key part of building your business is building relationships with your suppliers and elsewhere in your industry. Anyone can do it, and like anything else the results you achieve are in direct proportion to the investment you're willing to make. That investment isn't so much nakedly financial as about budgeting your time. Of course, time is an ultra-scarce resource for most people - including, it has to be said, the directors of Bear IT. But they have made the investment and are now reaping the reward. Over recent years it has become increasingly apparent to many people in the channel that the market is changing and they need to change their attitudes accordingly. The "at each other's throats" view of business competitors has been replaced by the concept of "coopertition", competitors co-operating because to fail to do so would hasten the demise of both; networking with each other whenever the opportunity presents is an important way to build relationships. From the vendor's point of view, engagement or "mind-share" with resellers is vitally important to the development of their business. The PCA, as an organisation for the whole of the IT channel and from its inception having had the slogan "keeping the industry as strong as possible for as long as possible", is naturally keen to foster good relationships in the marketplace. And with that in mind we'll be building on the success of our Scottish meeting in the spring and holding a series of regional networking and business development events in the autumn. Evening events, they'll largely replace our day-long national annual conference. We look forward to seeing you there. Talking about engagement It was great to get face-to-face with so many members on the PCA stand at Channel Expo. Yet again ours was one of the busiest stands at the show. Was the event a success? Visitor numbers were much the same as last year, but the show itself seemed smaller. However most of the people I spoke to, both exhibitors and visitors, felt that it had been good for them. It was certainly good for us, with a quite a few new member sign-ups, and our stand sponsors all saying they had a good event. Next year the show will take place at Olympia in London, reflecting the fact that the south is where most visitors to Channel Expo come from. It'll be an interesting change - and we'll be there as usual. This time round we had members visit us from as far afield as Ireland, northern Scotland and Cornwall - we hope they'll make it to London next year! The PCA's networking dinner at the show was, as usual, a great success, but with overall numbers down somewhat from last year, not so much a reflection of the financial constraints in the market, perhaps, as the fact that there was a free drinks party being held elsewhere. We note from a recent item in PC Retail that IT is the second booziest industry in the UK! Testimonials - always good news/b> It's always a good thing to include customer testimonials in one's marketing & promotion. We were chatting with one of our members recently and telling them about the preceding article we were in the process of writing. The member concerned wholeheartedly agreed, to the extent of sending us the following, which we greatly appreciate: "It always gives me great pleasure to write a little something about the PCA. The PCA are always there to help me with issues I am facing in the Channel, and CEO Keith Warburton is always friendly and forthcoming with some great advice, which over the last 3 years, has helped me shape my sales team and Medea's direction. Its not only the advice from Keith though, there are many more people at the various networking events that take place all over the UK that are willing to share their experiences with you and give you advice on how to benefit from their mistakes. There's a really good mixed bunch of members & attendees at the events from the small local computer store to the mighty OEM brands, all together all sharing knowledge & networking. Medea use the PCA logo on our letterhead and in various advertising. We like everything the PCA mandate, and want our customers to know that we ensure best business practices with the highest levels of customer care. Most important this year was the first Scottish PCA event which Medea helped to sponsor. We want more companies in Scotland to recognise that there is a body there to support them and local events they can attend and meet new business contacts who could also help them in their business strategy. All in all, in three years of membership I have not found one reason not to be a member and will continue to be a member for the foreseeable future. Mike Scott, Sales Director, Medea International mike.scott@medea.co.uk 0870 350 0350 Dates announced for Regional (evening) Meetings 19th October - Scotland 20th October - Northern England 21st October - Midlands 22nd October - Southern England Apathy? Oh, I suppose so A recent reader poll in CRN posed the questions "Will the cost of WEEE compliance force small PC assemblers out of the market?" The answer came back as an almost universal "yes". But both the question and the answer demand a lot more than the simplistic analysis of Yes and No. For instance, a cynical observer might be tempted to add "so what if it does?" Everyone and his brother - and their dog - have been saying for many years now that system builders (PC assemblers) needed to get big, get niche, or get out. If there is any micro-scale assemblers left in the market that are able to make a good living out of it the PCA would love to hear from them. Similarly, the constant mantra over several years has been that resellers must get into services - is there anyone who isn't? And if they aren't … the general consensus is that it's too late for you now. The bottom line is simple: it's the value you add that you can make money on, not the hardware that you might nail together. Where is the benefit in being a small PC assembler when you can buy ready assembled kit, white boxed if you want, at a price cheaper than you could make it for, and perhaps better balanced as well? The recent Finance Summit held by the PCA highlighted the fact that resellers should not define themselves either internally or externally as a 'reseller' but be "an expert in relationship management" - this will open new doors, and define new horizons. That's not to say that the WEEE regulations were particularly well thought out. The intent was excellent, but the implementation was, not to put too fine a point on it, really poor. And yes, the regulations are unfairly onerous on small-scale assemblers and retailers - nothing new in that. But who is to blame? The PCA was briefing the channel about the proposed regulations several years before they came into force. We had several meetings about them, but few resellers or small scale assemblers seemed particularly interested in any input into the proposals and the meetings were not well attended by those parties that were highlighted as being most vulnerable to the new legislation. It was only once the regulations came into force that the smaller system builders started to wake up, which is a comment upon the short-sightedness that seems to afflict many small assemblers. This is not a criticism but a reflection of how tough it can be to do business if you are small; the regulatory burden is disproportionately heavy upon smaller enterprises. That's why it is vitally important for smaller businesses to join their trade associations, support them and contribute to any debate on key issues and supply feedback so that they can speak on their behalf. The difficulties facing small businesses are highlighted by examining again that reader poll. It was prompted by reseller group ITACS, and I presume that their management pointed out to the members that this poll was taking place and they should make their voice heard, and yet only 66 resellers were interested or motivated enough to respond! Taking ITACS out of the equation, an alternative view is that CRN, a publication aimed at resellers and with a circulation in the order of 10,000 print copies and goodness knows how many readers of the electronic version, only managed to find 66 people interested enough to respond. It was the same when a Downing Street petition was organised by ITACS on the same subject; it was publicised by the press but only a relative few signatures were gained. The question has to be asked, why are there so few who are motivated to make their voices heard? Is it because they think the WEEE regulations are on the whole a good thing that won't really affect them very much, or is it because they don't really care, or just can't be bothered? It has been said, quite topically so, that in a democracy we get the government we deserve. We can modify that and say that we get the legislation we deserve. Our call to action must therefore be - join your trade association, support them in what they do, listen to what they are telling you and make yourself heard when called upon. Apart from some potential for a little tuning the WEEE Regulations are now merely a gently swinging stable door, but the next regulatory challenge to your business is just round the corner. We wonder what those 66 CRN respondents and the thousands who didn't get round to replying intend to do about it, or will it be another case of complaining when the escaped horse is a mere spec on the horizon? Do you know of an issue that is impacting the IT channel more than other industries? If you think it's something we should be taking action on, then let us know. Channel Finance Forum to become a regular fixture The Finance Summit has now morphed into a regular forum. Aimed at senior finance managers from vendors and distributors, together with reseller representatives, and with help and advice from professionals from various financial bodies, it aims to ensure the best possible financial basis for business in the channel, helping product to flow with as little interruption as possible. The next meeting of the Finance Forum takes place in Daventry on the 8th July. If you are interested in participating, contact Keith Warburton on 0845 634 9245 9th July. A Golf Day? No, it's much, much more! Annual event has something for everyone One of the key intents of the PCA is to be as inclusive as possible. For instance we try to ensure that by having lowest possible pricing for our membership subscriptions and our events we can attract as much participation as possible. The same inclusive philosophy applies to the structure of what we do; we try to build in something for everyone. The forthcoming IT Channel Golf Day is an excellent example of this. It's not just about good golfers playing golf, there's coaching for non-golfer who'd like to explore their potential, and there's a Spa for those who just want a bit of pampering. But everyone comes together for the informal networking dinner in the evening, after which we have a charity pool competition. You can book here: Golf & Spa Booking If you want to know more about the event, e-mail us on admin@pcauk.org Market Report from GfK Mobile PC market continues to lose its value The mobile PC market is facing tough times. Yes there is volume growth year on year at a healthy 18.7%, but when value is declining by 4.8% and it's been in decline permanently for the last three months now, these are worrying times for the market. Delve deeper into the form factors and some interesting trends emerge. Notebooks (mobile PCs excluding netbooks) seem to be behind the overall decline in value in this market. With February, March and April seeing year on year value declines of 13.4%, 17.3% and 14% respectively. The average price in April 09 vs. 08 of a notebook has declined by £68, so with there being no growth in volume you can see why value would slip into decline compared to last year. Questions now are arising such as is it just the recession that is driving notebook decline? Or is it the growth of the much cheaper netbook which in turn is putting pressure on notebook prices down also at the low end of the market? It is really only the netbook that is keeping the overall mobile PC market in growth because as we've said notebooks are showing no volume growth. With their average price tag £200 lower than a notebook, substantial value is not going to be put back into the market for the meantime. The surge of the netbook does not look like it will slow down any time soon. April saw the highest number of netbooks on the market yet - 230 different items.  Market struggles but 23" screen size begins to bloom. The LCD monitor market continues its decline this April. Year to date (YTD) there has been a decline of 27% in volume compared to the same period last year. Widescreen monitors YTD have not fared as badly, with the market remaining flat. An interesting development in the recent months has been the increasing volume share (albeit still only at 2.4% of the market this April) of the 23" monitors. This is definitely a Screen size to keep your eye because of the price band it fits into. It is very competitive because the gap between 22" and 23" monitors is £15 but the gap between the 23" and 24" is £122. The 23" monitors could bridge that gap between 22" and 24" in terms of price, making a 'larger' screen that bit more affordable. There are now 7 brands selling 23" compared to just 1 last April and the price of a 23" monitor has decreased by £359 in a year leaving the ASP at £159.  Credit Card fraud tops £609million EMUE card aims to solve key CNP problems Thinking Money believes that technological advancements by credit card companies will be fundamental in combating fraud. Credit card fraud is on the rise and, according to the Association for Payment Clearing Services, around 50% of this now is coming from card-not-present (CNP) fraud. However Visa has now teamed-up with UK credit card companies to trial a new technology which hopes to combat CNP fraud - the EMUE card. How does the EMUE card work? The EMUE card (http://www.emue.com/) works by having a small digit keyboard and an LCD screen embedded on the reverse of the credit card. When shopping or banking online you can type in your unique pin number - as normal on the keyboard. This will generate a series of numbers solely to you and your card which will then be required to continue with your online purchases. It is essentially, for the first time, bringing chip and pin into the home. EMUE Credit Card Trials Thinking Money states that developments in credit cad technology should limit both losses to credit card customers and credit card companies. Trials are currently being undertaken by 500 Deloitte employees within the UK to test new credit card technology. It is hoped that Visa and MBNA credit cards will be able to draw conclusions by the end of the year on the effectiveness of this technology in reducing fraud and in understanding usability. This testing is not only analysing the technological aspects of the credit card but also the logistics, such as battery life. It is hoped to extend this to a period of three years after which time the credit card would expire with the battery. About EMUE Credit Cards EMUE, the company behind the technology are based in Australia and hope that the uses for the card won't stop at CNP fraud - they believe they have produced a user friendly ID card which will have many applications. Meanwhile, Visa and MBNA are keen to assure their credit card customers that the product, if successful, would not be a replacement for the more traditional methods of fraud protection - such as name and security code but an additional safeguard in the fight against CNP fraud. This evolution of credit card protection, Thinking Money believes, should make online banking, online shopping and other instances of card-not-present shopping all the more secure. As a result, EMUE may well be part of the answer in saving retailers, consumers and credit card companies huge losses from fraud. |
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Professional Computing Association, PO Box 48, Royston, Herts, SG8 6JS Tel: 0845 634 9245 Fax: 0845 634 9247 Email: admin@pcauk.org |
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