Panasonic Updates Toughbook Partner Program
The changes bring the Secaucus, N.J.-based vendor's semi-rugged, business-rugged and ultra-mobile rugged notebook PCs into the program for the first time, expanding the product sets available to solution providers authorized to sell the fully-rugged Toughbooks under the program.
Panasonic also changed the way it calculates VARs' sales targets. Under the old program, partners had to sell $500,000 worth of rugged Toughbooks annually. In the revamped TP3 program, solution providers have point quotas and each PC is worth one point.
"We are now able to basically count the business rugged and semi-rugged and rugged and UMPC and even our mobile video all as one unit. Each one counts for one point, and they can then sell all of those units and reach their goals much easier than it had been before," said Sheila O'Neil, vice president, channel sales, for Panasonic. "In this way we can recruit more partners who aren't necessarily focused just on rugged into the program."
Partners will have to sell 150 units a year under the new system. The lower cost of the semi- and business-rugged products leads the company to re-think its system, changing from a dollar-volume-based model to a per-unit model. "It does help the smaller market partner to be able to sell the entire line without having to worry about the volume they're going to sell," O'Neil said.
Panasonic is also adding a sales certification requirement for its reseller partners, offering online training on how to best sell the Toughbook line into different vertical markets.
"We make sure that they understand what verticals are best to sell in and how to sell to it and who their audience is. Sometimes it's a different audience for a utility than health care for example," said O'Neil.
VARs will get extra points for including integrated wireless in their sales, earning 1.2 points instead of one. Professional services like notebook warranties, extended warranties and asset tagging systems are also worth two-tenths of a point each.
Panasonic will also be giving resellers quarterly reports to help identify where they are having sales success and which areas they are and should be focusing on, O'Neil said.
"We want it to be more flexible. I think this will help it and really allow us to put more focus on the non-rugged products and to continue to make sure that the channel really knows our products are more than just the fully-rugged models," she said. "As we expand our product line we want to expand our program to fit everyone as opposed to just some."
The company expects its partner program, which has about 300 members right now, to grow to between 400 and 500 members.
"We are going to have more people interested in becoming authorized or becoming part of the TP3 program, but it's still going to be a small program," O'Neil said. "We want to keep it at that level for those putting the focus on it are the ones getting the benefit of the program."