Distribution Drives Performance Improvements

Research shows that working with distributors increases chances of go-to-market success for both vendors and partners.

The face of distribution is changing, and one of the strongest indicators of the two-tier channel’s expanding role is its measurable impact on the capability of partners and vendors alike.

According to recent research from the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) and Channelnomics, distributor involvement raises the ability of the channel to execute — to 80%-plus across most major solution categories, including multi-vendor systems capability (increases to 88%), operational efficiency (rises to 86%), and cloud and hybrid interoperability (reaches 84%).

In addition, the latest study highlights significant financial advantages for vendors that leverage distribution, suggesting that distributors significantly improve the probability of go-to-market success across key business objectives. Specifically, vendors that use distributor-led execution can realize cost savings ranging from 15% to 52% and ROI between 4x and 8.5x.

Just as distribution’s role is expanding, so, too, are partners’ and vendors’ expectations of distributors as technology sales become increasingly subscription-based, service-led, and ecosystem-oriented.

Fulfillment remains important to partners, but they now expect distributors to provide operational, technical, financial, and orchestration support to help manage solution complexity. In fact, 91% of respondents worldwide cited ecosystem access and multi-vendor integration as their top requirement.

As for vendors, while they still rely on distribution for logistics and transactional fulfillment, they’re looking to distributors more often for strategic go-to-market support, operational scalability, and ecosystem orchestration. The No. 1 vendor priority is demonstrable ROI and value visibility, cited by 88% of respondents globally.

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