1

I have been purchasing through Ingram Micro for 10 years. Recently I had a client contacted by CDW or they contacted CDW for renewal of 98 Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security Services licenses. CDW then renewed these licenses via Ingram Micro who has me as the consultant / VAR of record for 4 years. They did not bother contacting me. They allowed CDW to poach my client. This is not a large sum of income to me but I am getting emails all the time from Ingram Micro about how they value me as a partner and what more they can do for me. Well now I know I worthless to them.

So GOOD BY Ingram Micro in the last 2 years your service has degraded this just finalized my decision to move to someone elst

5 Spice ups
2

Distributors are only in it for themselves. Same situation with other distros in the past.

3

People change resellers for licenses all the time. I don’t see what Ingram did wrong here.

4 Spice ups
4

You need a better system for follow up and managing your client licenses. Get them that invoice 6 months in advance to plant that renewal seed.

Oh and bad, bad Ingram Micro.

3 Spice ups
5

yes you are correct but I expect more out of a partner relationship.

6

I sell licenses to clients all the time that previously bought them elsewhere. Were Ingram or any other to take it on themselves to contact the previous entity I’d be highly pissed. The issue is between you and your client and the reason they cut you out.

3 Spice ups
7

What annoys me is when the manufacturer contacts my customer directly notifying them of a renewal and then offers to sell it to them directly. Usually they refer them to their current reseller but some push the direct sale.

3 Spice ups
8

I know why i was cut out they have a new part time employee that was trying to help out and do not fault him.

Since I started my business I have been careful not to give any vendor / distributors direct contact info to my clients but i have had Ingram Micro in the past figure out contact info and email / call a client but only when I had not renewed before the renewal date which i cannot legitimately complain about. In this case the renewal was month off and was on my schedule to renew that week.

Bottom line for me and for any of us do not trust your partner relationship with Ingram Micro.

9

Well, I can tell you this is exactly how the other distributors I deal with operate… Ingram, TechData, Synnex. I place an order for a renewal and they process it. None of them look up who the previous reseller was nor would I want them to.

1 Spice up
10

Well just a wake up call for me i guess :slight_smile:

1 Spice up
11

I feel your pain and this is why I stayed out of this aspect of consulting when I was doing it. Back in the 90’s some friends and I tried to start a web hosting company with domain registration services. Within the first year we lost every single registrar client to network solutions who sent our clients “invoices” for renewal before we could contact them. This business is ruthless.

12

I totally understand the annoyance - just didn’t want Ingram to get a bad rap for operating exactly how the other distributors do. I only do licenses with Ingram if I have to. Their ordering process is too disjointed - can’t order much or any online - have to email them for a quote then call or email back to place the order and give them all kinds of info they already have on file, etc. With the others, it’s just click click done.

13

Yep Ingram ordering is poor and often i get double billed. I have been trying out Interwork Technologies for new Trend licenses and have been very happy with the web ordering and service.

14

i don’t see a mention of you having said you quoted the client and they decided to go elsewhere.
the very first step in this process should have abeen a renewal quote to the client and well in advance.

is there any profit as easy as a renewal for something already sold and installed ?

15

Let’s take your scenario to it’s logical conclusion. Say IM did contact you. What do they say? “Hey, CDW is trying to renew licenses for CompanyA that you previously sold them”. Do you expect them to ask your permission, hold the sale, and/or block the sale completely? I sure hope not! What does contacting you change? Do you expect them to wait while you then go to CompanyA and say, “hey, why’d you do that”. That just seems awkward and desperate. You lost the sale. That’s business.

This is called the free(ish) market. CompanyA chose to go with a different reseller and not use you for their renewal. Regardless of their reasoning, that’s their decision. How would you like to be on the other end of that knowing that you’re not being allowed to compete with the prior seller?

If I were CDW and IM blocked my sale of licenses just because another reseller previously purchases the licenses, I’d be pissed and would probably never do business with IM again.

1 Spice up