New Supplier Relationships

Of all the challenges solution providers face, over the years I've found that selecting the right suppliers can be both the most difficult and the most rewarding. Early on, there's a temptation to sign as many suppliers as possible in order to provide the broadest array of solutions for your customers. Unfortunately, what many solution providers soon discover is that with a full line card comes the difficulty of supporting and feeding the marginal many, instead of focusing on the important few.

Bringing on a new supplier that your organization isn't properly prepared to support can be as bad as, if not worse than, losing one of your top customers. At best, it's a distraction. At worst, you run the risk of alienating your current suppliers, confusing your sales organization and stretching your technical resources to their limit, not to mention spending countless dollars on training and certifications that you may never use.

Homework, homework, homework. Doing a little digging is the most important thing solution providers should undertake. These three areas, in particular, should be key in the information-gathering stage:

1 Make certain the supplier matches your sales organization's culture.

2 Understand the supplier's value proposition and know how you fit into it.

3 Know where the supplier's "gaps" are and make sure your business plan addresses them appropriately.

Also, I recommend being crystal-clear on the supplier's expectations in terms of sales, certifications (both sales and technical), requirements to purchase demonstration product, business planning, etc. And, of course, an in-depth understanding of all the legal contract terms, liabilities, responsibilities...the list goes on and on. If you don't have an in-house contracts team, find a firm that's experienced and can get the job done. A poorly negotiated agreement can make a bad supplier decision disastrous.

In the end, signing a new supplier is a tremendous boon to a well-organized and well-managed solution provider. It can bring your existing organization and suppliers to an entirely new customer base and take you in new and exciting directions. Just be certain that you look before you leap.

David Williams is the vice president of marketing at Cleveland-based Agilysys Enterprise Solutions Group (ESG), the VARBusiness VAR of the Year winner for Services Delivery.