ACHOEVAEDR OS TFOTRHYE C U R V E
The Evolution To Become ‘A Platform Of Platforms’ Xvantage will continue to evolve and deliver more for partners to help them succeed. “I would say we’re ahead of where we thought we would be today,” Robinson said. “This is a perpetual journey because we’re constantly looking at working with the partners to make sure we’re hitting all the needs they have and hitting needs they don’t know that they need. There’s no timeline as to when we’re saying, ‘OK, we’re done.’ I would say we’re very, very pleased with where we’re at and directionally where we’re heading.” Sanjib Sahoo, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Ingram Micro, said partner and vendor feedback on the platform has been critical to its success. “We are also seeing engagement from our partners as well as vendors in how we are building capabilities,” Sahoo told CRN . “It’s not just platform success but feature development to utilization to solving business problems and engaging their business,” he said. “A year ago I said it’s a platform and ecosystem. It’s actually evolved to become a platform of platforms. There is a platform for our partners, there is a platform for our associates and there’s a platform for our vendors,” Sahoo added. Mark Essayian, president of Irvine, Calif.-based MSP KME Systems, said Ingram Micro is “truly trying to transform themselves into a platform company.” “I think the big difference here is that they’re understanding that they can’t be a website and a warehouse,” he told CRN . “Distributors are the financial arm. They make sure that I can get product and they’re stocking it—and all that is critical—but they’re really trying to save me time and trying to engage with more of my people. They’re actually trying to use technology and people so that they can be further embedded into my organization.” Like Morris, Essayian sees Ingram Micro moving to an Amazon-like model, where Xvantage is more than just a buying engine. “That’s not suggestive selling, that’s not, ‘Do you want fries with that?’” he said. “That’s, ‘You’re buying a notebook. Would you like to know about an extended warranty? Would your customer like a docking station? Here’s the right one.’ It seems [like a] little [thing], but it’s not,” he said. “I like the fact that they give us information from a marketing perspective,” Essayian added. “I think most resellers just don’t do marketing very well. So we get this information that we can look at and say, ‘I can actually do something with this.’” And the actionable insight is a key differentiator. On his personalized user interface in the Xvantage platform, Essayian can see what products are selling for his customers and what products and offerings are trending across the entire platform. “As a CEO, you want to know what’s hot,” he said. “If somebody’s selling a few thousand of these notebooks, maybe I need to introduce it to my customers,” he said. “Spend a few minutes inside of their insight because how
many times does a CEO sit down and have data at their eyes instead of their gut?”
Building Stronger Business Alignment Driving “shiny technologies is pointless” without driving business value, according to Sahoo. “Having technology built first and adoption second does not work,” he said. “[We are] plugged into the business, bringing the operational knowledge as the product is being built. As technology is maturing we’re working on aligning the business, aligning the partner feedback and driving value creation and adoption. That is a continuous agile process, which is very different than the general approach.” For Robinson, organizational alignment entails looking at how Ingram Micro is set up structurally. It’s about the skill sets and talents and making sure the distributor continues to align with its partners and vendors in a way that lets it interact with them around the platform and all the teaching it offers. “Beyond Xvantage, we realign to be [partner]-focused,” Robinson said. “It just so happens to align perfectly with what we’re delivering with the Xvantage platform. ... The reason we do it is because we want them to partner with Ingram Micro, and we’re excited about what we’re seeing and how they are partnering with us.” Also key is continuing to look at the financial options partners need to go out and close more deals. “We’re listening to their needs and getting creative in how we can find solutions for them to go win more business. We’ve been a leader in that field,” Robinson said. “It’s continuing to look at the trends in the market and how we continue to take a leadership position in helping our partners.” And when it comes to professional services, Robinson said Ingram Micro is investing more into those offerings because it is hearing from partners that they need help. “They need help with data migration and cloud migration, and that’s why we’re making the investments to help them understand and consult with them on the best way to move forward to solve those needs for their end customer,” Robinson said. “We’re always trying to look at where the puck is going,” he said. “It’s how do we make the right investments to make sure we’re ahead of the curve for our partners. We’re willing to take risks and look at building out capabilities, bringing in talent certifications and everything else needed to be there for our partners, and they rely on us for that.” The Xvantage Total Experience Is Key Ke’Airra Speigner, account manager at Lanham, Md.-based NGEN, an honoree on CRN ’s 2023 MSP 500, uses Xvantage every day as her go-to platform. “They’re always responsive, and the shipping time is the next day,” she told CRN . “I remember once my manager was out and I was trying to get some licensing completed for a client. Ingram Micro just helped me right away.” Speigner soon discovered the seamless, frictionless
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SPECIAL ISSUE 2023
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