With more than 90 percent of Kodak Alaris’ Information Management (IM) division sales conducted via its reseller and distributor partners, the company’s success is tightly tied to the channel, prompting a revamp of its partner program. In addition, distributors, value-added resellers (VARs) and solution providers are always looking for new ways to deal with increased competition, commoditization and more channels for customers to buy product and services.
The answer for Kodak Alaris’ IM division was a bulked-up partner program that delivered on two things: higher revenues for its partners and improved support for their customers. With the mantra of “expand, connect, and grow,” the redesigned partner program makes it easier for partners to meet their customers’ requirements for software, services and scanner solutions, while helping them expand their opportunities through additional and improved sales enablement tools.
“More than 90 percent of Kodak Alaris’ Information Management business is done via resellers and distributors, meaning if our partners aren’t successful, neither are we,” said Vanilda Grando, managing director, Americas Region, Kodak Alaris Information Management, in a statement. “Our new partner program is designed to enable our channel partners to offer best-in-class technology, sophisticated solutions and services, and to grow their businesses by helping customers solve their information management challenges.”
The Alaris Partner Program added new sales tools, incentives, rebates, promotions and technical resources. It addresses the challenges of increased competition by helping partners create tailored solutions that better meet their customers’ needs. One of the highlights of the program is the new Alaris IN2 Ecosystem, which combines Kodak Alaris scanners, software and services that are designed to work together.
To connect better with customers, Kodak Alaris said it is conducting global demand-generation campaigns and then passing all qualified leads to partners. Together—the new tools, incentives, and resources with tailored solutions—are expected to help partners gain customer loyalty and new revenue streams.
The program also beefs up financial incentives, which include a new set of reseller benefits and bonuses that are determined by membership tiers and a partner’s level of commitment. The program offers three membership tiers: Registered, Premier and Elite.
Kodak Alaris also plans to launch a new online partner portal that will be available globally in the coming months. The portal will provide a single sign-on access to Kodak Alaris systems and allow partners to automate administrative tasks in the sales cycle, said the company. It also will provide other sales tools, including content marketing assets and automation tools, and will help partners create customized co-branded campaigns.