We asked Gerry Harvey, Sales Director, TD SYNNEX, Ireland about the company’s presence in the country, and how it can help Irish resellers grow and develop their business.
Q: How committed to Ireland is TD SYNNEX?
A: I think having had a presence here in Ireland, in one form or another, for more than 20 years shows that TD SYNNEX is entirely committed to the country. Indeed, TD SYNNEX is one of the best known distributors here and over the last two decades we have seen the emergence and rise to prominence of many of the top Irish value added resellers. In many cases, TD SYNNEX has played an instrumental part in supporting their growth and helping them to be successful.
Q: What kind of set-up do you have in Ireland?
A: TD SYNNEX Ireland has 21 staff based in Dublin and Cork. The operation here is entirely customer-facing, with account managers, technical pre-sales specialists and vendor subject matter experts. On top of that, TD SYNNEX Ireland is backed up by some 15 UK-based back office staff and the whole apparatus and wider capabilities of the TD SYNNEX organisation. That means we have access to business development support, technical and professional services, credit control and financial services, state-of-the-art logistics and warehousing, configuration and custom-labelling and services and of course, e-commerce tools and resources. Our customers can also do almost everything they need to do online through our InTouch web portal.
Q: What’s your role in that operation?
A: I am responsible for all TD SYNNEX sales in Ireland and for general day-to-day operations. A lot of my time is spent talking to customers, making sure that we are fully aware of what’s going on with their businesses, and that we are meeting their needs.
We have continued to provide next-day delivery throughout the period when Britain was exiting the EU with no serious issues to date
Q: Which of the major product vendors do you cover in Ireland?
A: As most of our customers will already be aware, TD SYNNEX sells all the major brands including Apple, Autodesk, Dell, HPE, HPI, Lenovo, NetApp, Nutanix, Veritas, and VMWare.
Q: Where do products ship from and how are deliveries being impacted by Brexit?
A: There are two main routes. Most products are delivered into Ireland from the main warehouse at Magna Park in the English Midlands. Vendors may also ship products direct – usually high-end systems – from their own hub to customers in Ireland. We have a very impressive success rate on next-day deliveries, and we have continued to provide next-day delivery throughout the period when Britain was exiting the EU with no serious issues to date. Early in January, if they wanted products the next day, we were advising customers to place orders before midday to allow a little more time for deliveries, but that’s something we are working hard to reduce and we’re already seeing things start to run a bit more smoothly, so I think we’ll soon be back to a more usual cut off time.
It’s about having technical and pre-sales consultants on the ground who are subject-matter experts and here to help customers architect the best solution for their customers
Q: How will working with TD SYNNEX make a difference for a reseller in Ireland?
A: TD SYNNEX positions itself as a trusted advisor for reseller partners – that’s how we like to think of ourselves and that’s exactly what we try to be at all times. It’s about much more than being a great source of products, although obviously we do provide the very best choice, availability, and shipment – it’s about having technical and pre-sales consultants on the ground who are subject-matter experts and here to help customers architect the best solution for their customers.
We have four tenets that run through the whole organisation like words through a stick of rock. Our aims are to help our reseller partners increase sales, make more profit, reduce their costs, and finally, improve the level of customer satisfaction levels with their own customers. Everything we do is geared towards the achievement of those aims.
On top of all that, working with TD SYNNEX will give you access to all the leading vendor product lines, support resources and services that we offer – and, if you engage with us closely, we can also help you move into emerging technology areas, where there is significant growth potential, such as the cloud, security, IoT, and analytics. Wherever you are today with your business, and wherever you are going with it, we can help you get there faster and make the journey a lot smoother and more comfortable.
Our specialist practices can help any reseller get enabled, develop their capabilities, and become competent and confident in taking these technologies to market
Q: How do you see the prospects for the Irish market? Where do you see the big opportunities in Ireland?
A: The prospects for growth of IT business are excellent here in Ireland, especially in areas that are being driven forward by current trends, such as cloud, mobile, and remote working, and security and data protection. Our specialist practices can help any reseller get enabled, develop their capabilities, and become competent and confident in taking these technologies to market. In the short and medium-term, there are still good opportunities in helping customers to equip their people for more efficient home working and prepare for the return to the workplace. There is certainly no shortage of potential and opportunity.
Q: What is TD SYNNEX doing to support Irish resellers in addressing that potential?
A: Aside from the day-to-day, hands-on account management and support we provide to our customers here in Ireland, we have a whole array of programmes that can help resellers get enabled and competent in key technologies. For example, we have Practice Builder processes for cloud, for security, and for IoT – enablement schemes that will take you from zero to hero in those particular disciplines. If you are not ready for that yet, there are specific vendor support programmes, and we have a huge array of training resources available on the TD SYNNEX Channel Academy, which is a completely free resource we provide for our registered customers.
Take a look at our Trusted Advisor website – that will give you a great idea of the tremendous scale and scope of the services and value we can offer
Q: How can I start doing business with TD SYNNEX? What can I expect?
A: I’d advise you to do three things. First of all, if you are not already, register as a customer and take a look around our InTouch website – it’s simple, straightforward, and quick to get signed up –To register for an account the link is here.
Also, take a look at our Trusted Advisor website – that will give you a great idea of the tremendous scale and scope of the services and value we can offer. Third, drop us a line here in the Ireland office – just email uksalesireland@tdsynnex.com. What you can expect is a warm welcome and professional customer service from the word go.
