Synnex Adds HP, Lexmark Bundles To Leasing Mix

The distributor also said it added a new thin-client hardware vendor, VXL Instruments, to its line card. The new leasing program was put together by Synnex in conjunction with GE Commercial Finance's Technology Financial Services group.

Under the initiative, HP and Lexmark have created bundles that combine multifunction printers, toner and a support pack or extended warranty that provide VARs with a 10 percent up-front margin on a 36-month lease held by GE. The bundles are aimed in part at giving VARs selling multifunction printer solutions the leasing muscle necessary to grab a slice of the copier market.

GE Commercial Finance Technology Financial Services executives said the bundles are the first step toward a planned managed services printer offering that could be unveiled in the next six months with Synnex, Fremont, Calif.

Several VARs interviewed during the Synnex partner event in Greenville, S.C., which attracted about 300 solution providers, said they are interested in the new leasing opportunity because of the additional margin it could bring them in contrast with an outright sale in an intensely competitive printer hardware market.

"This is an attractive opportunity, but what they need to do is give us the proper training and tools since we are not accustomed to selling this way," said Eydie Worley, marketing director at PC Universe, a $33 million Boca Raton, Fla., solution provider.

Myra Saylor, purchasing/programs manager at Tereck Office Solutions, a Durham, N.C., solution provider that has been offering managed services for printing for many years, said, "If GE is competitive and they want our business, we need an excellent lease rate. We need fair market value or dollar buyout."

Under the HP bundle, the HP 4345 multifunction printer, three toners and an HP support pack can be leased at a monthly rate of $181.40 for the customer, netting the VAR about $500 up front on a $10,000 sale.

The Lexmark bundle, which includes the Lexmark X600 Series with two toners and an extended warranty, is priced starting at $1,500 up to $10,000 with a 10 percent up-front margin, said Paul Merritt, director of U.S. business channel sales at Lexmark, Lexington, Ky.

As for the VXL line card addition, Synnex executives said the deal marks the distributor's first foray into thin-client hardware. The deal gives Synnex VARs a thin-client offering priced 20 percent below the competitive offering from Wyse Technology with 25 percent more features, said Frank Noon, vice president of sales at VXL, Bangalore, India.