Ingram Micro Taps AccessChannel To Help Land New Vendors

AccessChannel will handle the logistics and vendor relationships on behalf of Ingram Micro, although the Santa Ana, Calif., distributor will still hold title to the vendors' products, said Justin Crotty, senior vice president of business development at Ingram Micro.

"This is close to what VARs are pursuing in the market. They're out there selling total solutions using all types of vendors. This brings us a broader product portfolio and access to smaller, newer technologies. It also allows VARs greater selection and choice in solutions they take to market," Crotty said. "It allows us to be pretty surgical, be it vertical or with a specific technology or vendor that holds promise."

Mike Semel, manager of Databranch, an Elmira Heights, N.Y.-based solution provider, applauded the deal. "It's a great idea. Ingram has been challenged because of its size to provide resellers and, ultimately, our customers with some specific niche products, particularly vertical-market products," Semel said. "We've needed to deliver complete solutions, and Ingram has great relationships with the hardware and mainstream software manufacturers. But when it gets down to where we have specific needs for a complete solution, sometimes they can't do it. Hopefully this will allow us to buy end-to-end solutions."

Under the arrangement, vendors hire AccessChannel to handle their logistics through distribution. AccessChannel will have resources in Ingram Micro facilities and use Ingram Micro Logistics to handle pick, pack and ship capabilities, so the products sold through AccessChannel can be bundled with more traditional products purchased at the same time, said Al Mann, CEO of AccessChannel, San Jose, Calif.

"We can negotiate distribution contracts. It takes away the obligation Ingram usually requires for marketing funds, rebates or volume of business. That bar has been eliminated," Mann said.

The first vendor signed under the arrangement is Ultimate Ears, an Irvine, Calif.-based maker of custom earphones for mobile devices. About 14 more new vendors are in the pipeline, Mann said.