AccessChannel creates tremendous efficiencies and greatly accelerates the vendor’s ability to bring products to market, quickly. It allows each player to focus on what they do best. A partnership with AccessChannel allows vendors to leverage existing trusted & successful relationships, streamline Ts & Cs and business processes.
Roles
For the Vendors, it is designing, creating and manufacturing new innovative products. Building awareness and demand for their products is a core responsibility of the vendor and much of its ultimate success will come from the level of investment the vendor makes in marketing and driving sales for its products.
For Ingram Micro, it is the continued value of providing a one-stop-shop with a broad array of products and services to its vast reseller channel. It offers scalability in logistics and in credit.
For the Resellers, they are able to incorporate the vendors’ products into the solutions they are bringing to businesses and consumers. By having the ability to leverage their longstanding sourcing and business relationships with Ingram, it allows them to focus on gaining knowledge through trainings. In addition, they are able to provide services and solutions to the market instead of investing resources into trying to establish and maintain one-off vendor relationships.
For AccessChannel, they facilitate a fast track on-boarding process accelerating the vendors’ time to market and obtaining a direct distribution agreement with Ingram Micro – the gateway to the broadest market of technology and consumer electronics resellers in the country. AccessChannel takes care of all communication and day-to-day operational tasks so that the vendors’ and Ingram’s resources can be better allocated to business development activities.
Through the model, Ingram Micro provides the vendors a gateway to the broader marketplace by allowing their reseller customers visibility to the vendors’ products through Ingram Micro’s catalog, website and telesales team. AccessChannel processes all reseller orders coming through Ingram Micro’s front-end sales system and will invoice Ingram Micro on behalf of and in the name of the vendors at the time of physical shipment against a reseller order. Title transfers instantly and electronically directly from the vendors to Ingram Micro then on to the resellers who have placed the orders. AccessChannel does not take title, at all, through the model.
This unique model ensures that the reseller’s experience is no different than it is for any other manufacturer that it sources from Ingram Micro. It allows them to view vendor inventories and place orders and have it delivered to their specifications just like with any traditionally managed vendor that Ingram Micro carries.
The Program
The program is simple:
1) Qualified manufacturers complete the application process
2) They sign an Ingram Micro distribution agreement
3) The new Vendor’s product information is then, uploaded into the system.
Product is owned by the vendor, is warehoused in the agreed upon logistics center, and appears in Ingram Micro’s catalog and made available for sale through their telesales, website or other electronic tools.
Ingram Micro’s customers order the consigned/vendor owned product and those orders are processed and shipped throughout the day. Electronic reporting is passed between AccessChannel and Ingram Micro that allows Ingram Micro to perform a virtual receipt of inventory and AccessChannel to invoice Ingram Micro for that receipt. This information exchange will be transmitted in a format that Ingram Micro currently utilizes allowing the virtual receipt to occur so inventory can be adjusted and facilitate the payment of the corresponding invoices. Since there will always be a perfect match to the receipt, reseller sales order, and vendor invoice, Ingram Micro will experience zero receiving or invoice discrepancies.
As mentioned, title of the product transfers electronically from the vendor to Ingram Micro to the reseller once an order for the product has shipped. AccessChannel consolidates the billing and invoices Ingram Micro daily on behalf of the manufacturers whose products were shipped. When the invoices are due, Ingram Micro will make a consolidated payment to AccessChannel. Thereafter, AccessChannel will separate and disperse payments to the appropriate manufacturers.
AccessChannel will provide the vendors daily inventory and sales transaction reporting via a secure website. In addition, AccessChannel will provide vendors all of the invoice and payment detail.
The Model
AccessChannel assumes responsibility for the performance of all back office activities. By providing outsourced relationship management and absorbing the cost, AccessChannel lowers Ingram Micro’s financial and operational risks related to representing smaller and emerging manufacturers.
In return for the financial benefits derived from the model, Ingram Micro will allow the manufacturers’ products to be visible and available to its reseller customers.