RLM Evolves Into Intel Distributor

Last October, when Intel officially signed its distribution agreement with RLM, the industry was in the midst of its worst slump ever and there was a significant product crunch with Pentium 4 processors.

But the chip giant saw an opportunity to turn RLM into an authorized distribution channel, and RLM saw the chance to provide Intel-backed marketing benefits to customers.

"RLM did not pursue Intel," Finkel said. "I don't think we had the audacity."

Rather, he said, Intel approached RLM with an offer to authorize it as a distributor. RLM, East Brunswick, N.J., has $100 million in annual sales,

$2 million to $3 million in inventory and upward of 3,000 customers.

RLM was founded in 1997 by Finkel. At that time, he had left Universal Micro and set up shop with several colleagues and business partners as a maker of white-box and custom PCs. Over time, the company formed relationships with other small VARs, to which it provided some systems and other Intel products.

In addition to its brisk business as an OEM, said Suzanne Stefanelli, RLM's director of marketing, "we were a reseller just selling parts to companies."

Last year, though, Intel embarked on a major effort to eliminate the gray market for its products,a move that would let the chip maker keep better track of where its products go, allow it better data for forecasting, and give it better control over CPU pricing. Two major thrusts for Intel were to increase incentives for solution providers to buy through authorized channels and boost the number of those channels.

"We've been doing business with [RLM since the day they opened their doors [in 1997," said Ray Peltzman, owner of Memory Plus, a Westborough, Mass.-based systems builder.

Peltzman said the close contact he maintains with a smaller distributor such as RLM is beneficial.

"I got into a hole yesterday with some memory issues," Peltzman said. "This morning, I came in and [a FedEx [package was there" with replacement product, he said.

Finkel said RLM will not compete with large distributors such as Tech Data and Ingram Micro nationally, but maintain more of a regional focus in the Northeast.