Bull`s Eye Awards: Partner Program of the Year (Class B) - CONTENDER
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Panasonic
Most folks know how bulletproof Panasonic’s Toughbook line of notebooks
and tablets are. Since 1993, Toughbook business-rugged, thin-and-light,
and ultraportable notebooks have been a mainstay in corporate and
industrial environments. Lesser known, however, is just how well built
and durable the vendor's channel program has been.
Close to 100 percent of PSC's sales are made through the channel.
And it's clear Panasonic knows it can only be as successful as its
partners. As a result, the Secaucus, N.J., company has made steady
improvements to its extensive Toughbook Premier Partner Program.
Key changes in the past year have focused on streamlining the sales
process for members of the program known by the shorthand TP3.
Panasonic changed their "rules of engagement" to eliminate preliminary
steps that had stood between solution providers and TP3's special
pricing programs. Add to that an extended lease program with deferred
payments and its clear Panasonic is dedicated helping partners get
their foot in customers' doors and close more sales.
"Because we are dedicated to selling Toughbook devices through the
channel, we make the needs of our partners a priority," says Sheila
O'Neil, PSC's vice president of channel sales. "Some of our competitors
find their way in and out of the channel as a way to make short term
impacts on their bottom line. Unfortunately, this doesn't benefit
anyone. Our partners and customers want long-term commitments because
they have long-term goals."
And those long-term commitments continue in TP3 with a commendable
collection of national, regional, local and vertical specific marketing
support, a nationwide lead generation and distribution program, deep
discounts on demo units, rebates for wireless modem activation in
Toughbooks along with a host of other benefits.
That's why Panasonic has earned the Channel Insider Contender Bull's
Eye Award for Partner Program of the Year for companies less than $1
billion in size.
