Samsung Revamps Channel Offerings

Samsung is reorganizing its Power Partner channel program and will cut in half the threshold for solution providers to qualify for monthly financial incentives, a company executive said.

The Irvine, Calif.-based Digital Information Technology Division of the peripherals and electronics giant has created four separate levels for its 15,000 solution providers to qualify for marketing and co-op advertising dollars based on product sales.

Key to the plan, the company will lower the minimum sales a solution provider must reach to qualify for the funding to $10,000 per month, or $100,000 per year, from $20,000 per month, or $200,000 per year.

"We wanted to take the incentives piece [of the Power Partner Program], and the margins piece, and try to divide those according to [solution providers'] focus to make it more relevant to them," said Rey Roque, vice president of marketing for the Samsung unit. The amount of co-op dollars Samsung provides to its channel partners will vary to a degree on the products.

For example, he said, while some product sales will provide 2 percent co-op rebates to solution providers, "all color lasers [will be] 4 percent back."

Samsung's new approach will have four tiers of channel programs for its partners:

• A P3 Power Cash Incentive Program, which will be targeted at solution providers who focus on consumers and small businesses;

• A P3 SMB Focus Plan, which will, among other things, provide a $25 deposit to a solution provider's Power Cash Debit Card for every five units of displays or printers a solution provider sells. The debit card is one of Samsung's methods of paying solution providers their rebate or co-op fees;

• A P3 Big Deal Cash Back Program, which will provide a tier-based financial incentive to solution providers who sell at least 25 display or printer units into a large corporate account, or 50 units depending on the size of the deal; and

• The new, lower threshold for solution providers to obtain the co-op advertising funds.

Roque said Samsung is taking the actions now as a response to market conditions that have changed over the past year.

"It probably wouldn't have been as relevant before to have a component for large bids," Roque said. "What we've seen toward the end of last year is more bid activity ... across the board."

In addition, he said, Samsung began noting huge volumes of solution providers accessing its channel Web site, a development that helped convince the company to open its incentive programs to a broader number of small-business and consumer resellers.