Ingram Micro adds three vendors to RSP 28 August, 2007 By Patricia Pickett

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The Santa Ana, Calif. distributor has added Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc., Eastman Kodak Co. and Adtran Inc. to the RSP, which already includes Cisco, HP, IBM and Lenovo. As part of the engagement, all three manufacturers will offer services renewal opportunities through the portal.

The RSP, launched in 2006, is powered by MaintenanceNet Inc., a Carlsbad, Calif.-based provider of maintenance contract management services. According to Scott Herron, CEO of MaintenanceNet, the online offering, which is free for U.S. Ingram Micro partners to use, helps value-added resellers (VARs) get into the services annuity business.

"Today typically service sales are a one-time sell," but the portal can help turn the sale into ongoing services opportunities by automating service renewal contracts, Herron said. The RSP includes tools such as e-mail notifications and online access to information on expiring contracts and warranties, unattached assets -- products sold without service contracts -- and product registration.

"The RSP is based on the three Rs of the service annuity business: register, renew and refresh," Herron said. "It helps make sure that VARs are managing the lifecycle of all service contracts being sold into the market." Fujitsu, Kodak and Adtran are welcome additions for the VAR community, which has been requesting that more vendors be added ever since the tool was launched, said Herron. The RSP relies on manufacturer participation to provide data around contract management. "The higher the level of integrity of the information ... the greater the opportunities there are for renewals."

Fujitsu will also use the RSP to manage product registration, while Adtran is introducing a service lookup utility tool to give partners a quick and easy way to look up a hardware product or part number and then view a list of compatible services to expedite service quotes and transactions. "The challenge is that even when they have the asset, (partners) are sometimes not quite sure what service is available to cover that asset," said Herron. "This is another way to help channel partners manage that business." The tool will also provide pricing, SKU information and quarterly updates on service offerings. For now, the lookup tool will cover Cisco and Adtran hardware, and while there are plans to add other vendors in the future, the delivery date has not been determined yet, said Herron.

The RSP is currently only available in the U.S. but Ingram and MaintenanceNet are planning the launch of the portal's Canadian equivalent in September, Herron said. In Canada, Cisco will be the first vendor on the RSP, which will enable online quoting and renewals.

According to MaintenanceNet, Ingram Micro solution providers are currently looking at more than $120 million in additional service opportunities across products from HP, Lenovo, IBM and Cisco over a four-month period. These opportunities are related to assets that are not covered by service or warranties, which gives solution providers a chance to either sell services to end customers or provide technology refresh solutions. In addition, the portal will open up close to $95 million in service renewal opportunities in that same period for those same four manufacturers.

"The reality is that there is a tremendous amount of revenue opportunity that has gone unworked," said Herron. Once partners realize how much opportunity is out there, MaintenanceNet hopes to see the reseller community as a whole shift its focus toward service renewals. "We want to raise awareness that there is a lot of money to be had."