D&H Offers Credit to SMB VARs
D&H Distributing this month is opening a new line of credit for resellers serving SMB customers.
The 90-year-old Harrisburg, Pa.-based firm this month announced $38 million in new credit for up to 4,000 VARs and systems integrators who serve customers with fewer than 100 employees. The math works out to about $9,500 per VAR or SI, although dollars available to individual resellers should be much higher because not all D&H resellers will use the program.
"Our [reseller] customers are reaching out for support," said Mary Campbell, vice president of marketing at D&H, in a statement.
D&H, which is an Authorized Microsoft Distributor and an Authorized Microsoft OEM Distributor, calculates that its two-tier credit program could generate a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in sales within its target market. The company is also launching virtual events for SMB VARs to connect with a handful of top-tier manufacturers and offering in-person seminars to help VARs make their businesses more efficient.
According to Rob Eby, vice president of purchasing at D&H, the financing could help VARs pursue new opportunities in the national economic stimulus bill, especially in education, health care and municipal government. An IDC report released last week estimated that health care-related technology spending generated by the stimulus bill would amount to $21 billion over the next five years. Much of the spending would be on the move to digitize medical records, a project that could create technology reseller opportunities in thousands of medical offices around the country.
Right now, any boost in credit can save a deal, making D&H's move welcome. If it helps solution providers find creative ways to mine the SMB opportunities buried in the stimulus bill, all the better.
Posted by Scott Bekker on March 24, 2009