ScanSource Partners Laud Distributor's Support Services

The Reseller Services Division consolidates support services the company currently offers, such as its online configuration tools and inventory access, along with new tools for solution providers, said Mike Baur, CEO of the Greenville, S.C.-based bar-code and point-of-sale (POS) distributor.

"We've had these services, but they were buried under different parts of our business," Baur said. "We are creating a separate business unit headed by a vice president, who will drive just those services."

For example, he said, ScanSource is offering a new hosted Web Store Solutions portal product to its solution providers, most of which are small to midsize companies, for $200 a month.

"It's plugged into our IT system, so our resellers' customers can have access to our entire inventory of product," Baur said. "And it's set up so our resellers can go in there and very simply set their own pricing and manage it on a customer-specific basis."

Other support services in the new division include a Technical Knowledge Portal, which provides access to technology information in the automatic data collection and POS markets, including white papers and product specifications.

That kind of support is particularly important to small solution providers such as Minneapolis-based Coridian Technologies. Mike Cleary, owner of the 10-person solution provider, said although he can get many products from other distribution sources, he remains loyal to ScanSource because of the company's commitment to resellers.

"We are working to move into data collection and radio frequency markets," Cleary said. "Their [ScanSource professional services support is helping us, and that is invaluable to companies like ours that just don't have a lot of resources."

Mike Stryczek, president of American Barcode, a Phoenix-based solution provider, emphasized the breadth and availability of top-line products offered and stocked by ScanSource. He also credits the distributor with sharing vendor relationships and working hard to manage channel-conflict issues.

"If we've got a large opportunity with a particular vendor,Symbol, for example,they are always there to go to bat for us," Stryczek said. "So ScanSource is very responsive, and that's their No. 1 strength to us."