A company which survives on channel partners is HP. Partners are the flesh and blood of this vendor. On the other hand, HP is also very sensitive to partners’ requirements. It may be enabling them, incentivizing them, or even recognizing them. HP is aggressive on every front. The basic idea of the company is to help the partners grow, and that is where the growth of the company lies.
“We have many channel programmes running at the moment, and they are different for different product lines and solutions. For example, Reseller Pay for Result Program, Platinum Club, Mobile Moghul Program, Workstation Solution Partner Club, Color in Office Program, Storage Gold Partner Program, Thin Client CLIC Elite Partner Program, ESS Software Elite, Partner Alliance One, HP Channel Efficiency Program, etc.,” says, Sameer Mathur, Director, Solution Partners Organization, HP India. The company is equally sensitive to the partners’ skill sets.
Some time back, HP had launched “HP Money Maker Attach Partner” training program to focus on its Personal Systems Group (PSG) Attach business. Under this, the company had introduced 100 channel partners and had christened them as Attach Champion Partners. Even the company had conducted sales training workshops which focussed on equipping the sales force to value add to a sales transaction for the channel partners.
Even for the benefit of the channel partners, HP had launched a partner portal, which carries information about the channel partners’ benefits and tools to enhance their business as well. Besides, HP launches training sessions, certification, support programmes and generates leads for the partners. HP also has a process of doing business planning sessions with its top partners when the vendor analyses their business for the last few quarters.
Sameer adds, “HP acts as a catalyst to the partners by assisting them in developing their skills in domains, which enable the partner to effectively address client requirements for the products they are jointly selling.”
He further adds,”“We also support the partner in scaling up the business is around the area of providing them specific marketing/lead support.” HP is represented in India by more than 3,500+ channel partners, but out of this number only 500–600 top-tier partners work dedicatedly for HP and others constitute the opportunistic group of partners.
HP partners are classically divided into three partners, i.e. Premium Business Partners, Business Partners and HP Registered Resellers. When Premium Business Partners constitute the top layer of HP’s channel programme, the Registered Resellers sit at the bottom layer, but the number of these partners is almost 3000+. According to Sameer, HP wants these 3,000 partners should increase their engagement with HP as well. They should work seriously with a certain plan and programme and HP is always there at their back to assist them.
Secondly, HP has focussed on the SMB segment of the country. This segment most probably contributes 40 per cent to the revenue of the company. In order to address SMBs in a better manner, HP has set up teams in all the metro cities, who will help the channel partners to focus on the SMBs.
Last but not the least, HP has launched a Business Solutions centre in Chennai. It intends to provide experience of HP products and solutions to the customers.
HP India plans to establish 20 high-tech HP Business Solution Centres across the country. But the first centre has come up in Chennai in partnership with Precision Informatic, a leading software solution company.
Sameer says, “The new HP Business Solution Centre will provide an opportunity for our customers to experience HP products and solutions which will help in fuelling their growth through IT investments.
“We have planned to open such centres in all the metros and tier-II cities across the country within a period of six months. Each centre would cost the company about Rs.20 lakh,” he said.
The business solution centre was also expected to cater to HP’s existing customer base of over 200 companies in Chennai alone and further strengthen its foothold in the market with strong partnerships.
While explaining about the centre, he said, “HP customers receive a full circle of personalized service for each stage of the product lifecycle – choosing it, to using it, to protecting it, to its transition – all the way to recycling it.”
“HP India team will be running a micro-vertical based solution programme and provide consultancy to customers on IT deployment required for their organization.”
“Apart from this, HP would undertake new initiative to launch ‘HP Total Care’ campaign across the country, which is about delivering enhanced customer experience through the value chain.”
“Mid-sized and growing businesses are key focus segments for HP in India and we are seeing phenomenal growth with this segment with the trend towards technology adoption and innovation for business results being very high.”
However, Sameer agrees that in some areas HP needs to improve and one of them is HP sales force with the channel partners. They need to be improved in their communications to the customers and they should distinguish themselves from the competitor’s salespersons. Secondly, HP will also improve on making the demo units available with the channel partners – it might be a co-funded one.
According to Sameer, HP does not want over-distribution of its products. That is the reason why HP would not like to add any more distributors or resellers, who like to do HP business only. Rather, the company will evaluate the attitude of the company as to whether they are ready to adapt to the company’s policy and whether they have a very good customer or channel base also.
