Conference 7.286::digital

    
    	This drives us all crazy in Channels Sales.
    
    	For example, yours truly can only recruit, and sign ALPHA
    resellers. A "regular" channels sales rep then ramps the account and
    gets credit for all sales. If the account wants PCs, it must do them
    thru a master reseller, or distributor, who has their own Digital
    reps not in the Channels space.
    
    	Wait, it gets better.
    
    	If the account purchases StorageWorks products with an Alpha CPU,
    channels can sell them. If the account wants to sell StorageWorks for
    SUN, H-P, or IBM connectivity, it must get the product thru Storage
    Business Unit channels reps.
    
    	Let's say the account now actually decides to resell Multia, then
    it must purchase that product thru C&P's VIPS channels, either direct
    or from another master reseller.
    
    	The same game gets played for services (MCS), networking products
    (officially in July 95), and support training.
    
    	Our VARs are completely crazed over this, and I have to believe it
    is costing us a bundle in lost sales. Recruitment of new resellers has
    come almost completely to a halt because new accounts refuse to go thru
    this stupidity. Existing accounts are porting to "vendor neutral" O/Ss
    (read Windoze WT and "generic" UNIX) as fast as their little fingers
    can type.
    
    	And our standing in the VAR community (like VAR Business Magazine's
    annual poll of vendor satisfaction) is at its lowest in my ten years at
    Digital.
    
    	This is all done in the name of product revenue accountability to
    the appropriate business unit.
    
    	Life at Digital is always two steps forward, two steps back. One of
    these days.....
    
    
    		the Greyhawk

    Greyhawk,
    
    You forgot to mention the different BUs having their own "flavors"
    of warranty!!
    
    I had a VAR ask for a simple statement of Digital's warranty policy
    last week and I couldn't give it to him.  I told him our warranty
    depended on type of system being purchased; the warranty deliverables
    are no longer determined by Standard or List price purchasing.
    
    Personally I think some people should be locked in a room until they
    can produce a "system" quote.  Let the decision makers see how much
    fun it is when the CPU gets Basic On-site for 3 years, storage products
    get a different level/term, networks products are RTD and monitors,
    well I don't even want to talk about monitors :-(
    
    A sales rep, ATD or VAR should not have to spend 2+ days working on
    a quote just to make a quote "seem" uniform when the customer has
    asked for 7 x 24 warranty coverage.
    
    
    

    Re: .2 and .3  
    
    	Until the issues described in these two entries are addressed, any
    talk of a "Turnaround at Digital" are premature! And many of us have
    pointed these out to the powers that be until we are blue in the face.

    Hi,
    
    Don't overlook the maze of service/support contracts.
    
    Jim G

Just as an FYI, although the base note originated from a channels partner, any one perusing this 
should be aware that THE VERY SAME ISSUES impact our end user / ABU accounts.  I just 
finished configuring & quoting a $100k+ Internet solution with at least 3 different levels of 
warranty based upon the different BUs "standards".  I hate to say it, but I've got to leave it to the 
MCS group to work out the diffs upon adding the solution to the client's`contract.

What's so tricky about a uniform warrant anyway? Couldn't we just offer a standard 1 year/  
3 year on-site/rtd warranty, with uplifts as needed? The tough part of selling is supposed to be 
beating IBM/SUN/HP/COMPAQ/SGI/etc., not "equalizing" CP/PCBU/etc.

SteveS

Just as an FYI, although the base note originated from a channels partner, any
one perusing this  should be aware that THE VERY SAME ISSUES impact our end
user / ABU accounts.  I just  finished configuring & quoting a $100k+ Internet
solution with at least 3 different levels of  warranty based upon the different
BUs "standards".  I hate to say it, but I've got to leave it to the  MCS group
to work out the diffs upon adding the solution to the client's`contract.

What's so tricky about a uniform warrant anyway? Couldn't we just offer a
standard 1 year/   3 year on-site/rtd warranty, with uplifts as needed? The
tough part of selling is supposed to be  beating IBM/SUN/HP/COMPAQ/SGI/etc.,
not "equalizing" CP/PCBU/etc.

SteveS

    I started selling for DEC in 1969. We used to moan all the time about
    how hard it was to do business with DEC, all the different product
    lines had such different terms.
    
    The trade press has bashed us forever about this.
    
    Have we learned anything in 26 years?

|    Have we learned anything in 26 years?

Persistance.

    DOES THE CONFUSION RESIDE IN THE EXPECTATION THAT 7 BUSINESS UNITS
    EQUATES TO ONE "COMPANY"?  PERHAPS OUR MODEL LOOKS MORE LIKE SEVEN
    COMPANIES WITHIN ONE LARGE COMPUTER BUSINESS UNIT CALLED DIGITAL.
    
    

    
    	No. It's seven companies within one corporation that happens to 
    manufacture *computer systems*.
    
    	Expect rather unusual creativities to take place over the next
    several months as all this gets straighten out. 
    
    	Had the pleasure of spending nearly two hours with a Digital VP 
    today and we focused our attentions on "fixing" that problem. The PCBU
    still needs to recognize reality as it pertains to large (over $5MM
    annual purchases) VARs, especially those rapidly adopting true
    client/server applications; but C&P (storage, VIPS, and networks) is
    on board and I expect the rest to follow.
    
    	At least senior management now appears to recognize the scope as
    well as the nature of the problem, and that is goodness in anybody's
    book.
    
    
    		the Greyhawk  

    I'd like to add my experience to this one.
    
    I'm the PacRim Program Manager for one of our Global Accounts.  This
    customer has asked for, and been promised, a single point of contact
    for all their dealings with Digital across Asia/Pacific.
    
    (7 companies within Digital) * (how many countries in Asia/Pacific?) = 
    one very difficult smoke screen
    
    It would be heaps easier if I tossed in my badge and opened shop as a
    manufacturer's rep.
    
    From a strictly dealing with Digital basis, I think the resellers got
    it easy.  Besides, they can always sell somebody else's stuff.
    
    Bill 

Has anyone considered:

a)  Doing away with warranties.
b)  Cutting the price proportionally
c)  Letting MCS offer a blanket "system warranty" contract at a reduced rate.

Just a thought...

\dave