Distributors Sketch '07 Growth Plans

Tech Data CEO Bob Dutkowsky said the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor wants to strengthen its SMB reseller base and get in front of technology trends and emerging products like RFID, wireless and virtualization.

"You move first, you win. And I want to make sure Tech Data is moving first in some of these spaces. That will be a fundamental component to our strategy going forward," Dutkowsky said.

Most distribution executives at the conference wouldn't provide detailed sales and earnings guidance for 2007, but they said they think the economy won't change much from 2006.

"The next couple of quarters look and feel like a typical [fourth quarter and first quarter]," Dutkowsky said. "Customers are going to deploy technology products, and the channel is an important route to market for that business."

Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel said the Santa Ana., Calif., distributor will focus on five key areas: the SMB market, the convergence of the consumer and commercial markets, mobility, services and the Asian market.

Asia is becoming increasingly important for business growth, according to Spierkel. Ingram Micro is the No. 1 distributor in India and third in China, two areas where the market stands to see double-digit growth next year, he said.

CDW expects to grow by taking market share from other players in 2007, said CDW CEO John Edwardson. The Vernon Hills, Ill.-based company will continue to run solution provider Berbee Information Networks, which CDW acquired earlier this year, as a stand-alone business because the companies' customer bases don't have significant overlap, he said.

Hardware and services sales and services were the bread and butter for Insight Enterprises in 2006, and the Tempe, Ariz.-based solution provider also grew its software market share with its acquisition of Software Spectrum, which has a strong presence in the Asia/Pacific market. But at this point, integrating the two companies will be a higher priority than extending Insight's reach, said Insight President and CEO Rich Fennessy.

"We will not be bringing on hardware and services capability in 2007 in Europe or Asia/Pacific. We have a lot of other priorities. As we integrate these two companies, that becomes more of a 2008 opportunity for us," Fennessy said.

Avnet hopes to see growth through its acquisition of Access Distribution, and Avnet CEO Roy Vallee said the addition of Access' 600 enterprise VARs will give the Tempe, Ariz.-based distributor the largest enterprise VAR base in the American and European markets.

Arrow Electronics, meanwhile, will be going back to the basics in the computer business, focusing on sales management, sales execution and back-office execution worldwide, said Paul Reilly, senior vice president and CFO at the Melville, N.Y.-based distributor.

SCOTT CAMPBELL contributed to this article.