Oki Data Forms VAR Pact With Contractor Organization

Oki Data today announced an agreement with a 15-state purchasing organization that establishes Western resellers of its printing solutions as contract leads.

The Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) was established in October 1993 as a means for participating states to achieve cost-effective and efficient acquisition of quality products and services. By participating in the program, Oki Data can sell into WSCA states -- which include many in the Western region as well as Alaska and Hawaii -- and offer attractive volume discounting.

Typically, contracts with WSCA are handled one of two ways: through a direct model between states and vendors, or through an agent program, where the vendor maintains the relationship with the customer and then farms the business out to resellers. States can work separately with a solution provider, but the order is still placed with the contractor.

"We think that causes the customers to do something different from their normal procurement process, and removes the contract a step from the folks doing the actual support and business," says Bill Burnette, vice president of commercial and public sector sales at Oki Data. "To us, the first interface and primary interface should be between our partner and the customer."

Oki Data will provide its VARs with total access to order entry, delivery and support functions.

"We're actually participating in the contract through business partners only," Burnette says. "It provides the customers participating an opportunity to continue doing business with folks they're already comfortable with, and provides a one-stop shop."

The particulars of the contract keep step with how Oki Data handles business as a whole, pushing more than 95 percent of sales through the channel. Public-sector sales -- state, local and education, specifically -- ranges between 10 and 12 percent of its total business. The company is in the process of maturing its federal-government focus as well.

"We're extremely happy to see Oki Data participate," says Bill Bryant, general manager at Datel Systems, a San Diego-based solution provider. "A lot of our business is state and local and education; this will allow us to serve our customers in a more seamless way."