CRN Exclusive: D&H Distributing Rolls Out Extended Credit Lines As Part Of Larger Push To Help Partners Win

D&H Distributing on Tuesday announced it will roll out $115 million in extended credit lines focused on SMB resellers over the course of the year, as part of a larger strategy for the coming year to help position its channel to succeed.

The Harrisburg, Pa.-based company told CRN that it hopes the extended credit lines will jumpstart business for emerging VARs and fuel growth for existing resellers in fiscal 2018.

"We want our partners to win with D&H standing by their side," said Dan Schwab, co-president of D&H Distributing. "We want them to grow double the pace of the market, and this is a big bet in helping them grow their business."

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The distributor said it would roll out credit increases for more than 4,000 SMB resellers, in hopes of improving individual credit lines for accounts by up to 60 percent.

The initiative comes as D&H Distributing looks to grow its customer breadth across the board and to help to enable its partners to grow their businesses in the coming year.

The company said it would increase support and funding for its SMB-targeted manufacturers' partners to generate additional sales. "We are raising our hand in a very competitive marketplace with our manufacturing partners … we want to help them grow in the small business market," said Schwab.

On the reseller side, the distributor said it would continue to consult with channel partners on new sales strategies and technologies in the coming year, by offering more vendor-focused educational content, resources and training programs.

Tightening focus around specific vertical markets, such as education and health care, will be a vital part of this strategy, said Schwab.

"Our resellers aren't just looking for products; they want support," he said. "From a vertical standpoint, K-12 is still the biggest opportunity, and we spend a lot of time in the medical vertical. We're leaning into these categories and putting more emphasis and training into those."

Partners will see investments from a technology standpoint as well in areas of growth. Schwab said that security is a tremendous growth area that is "on the mind of every business owner today." Other areas of growth for the channel include the mobility segment as more businesses shift to 2-in-1s and its cloud offerings as a complementary solution for SMBs.

Ben Johnson, CEO of Griffin, Ga.-based D&H Distributing partner Liberty Technology, said he is happy the distributor's channel investments and "feels like it's a true partnership."

"We’ve been active in their Pro Partner program, and they have worked with us support us with additional training, enablement, and marketing support to help boost sales. From the outside in, it seems like this program has matured over the past year and is getting most polished with help training up our internal resources," said Johnson. "With D&H, I have confidence that they will be able to live up to their promises of adding value as well as getting us products swiftly."

Looking forward, Schwab hopes to add 1,000 new resellers for D&H Distributing's vendor partners. "The channel is D&H's overall strategy," he said. "We are unwavering in our focus of helping SMB customers and partners be successful. We're doubling down and re-investing in helping to support our channel partners."