Tech distributor Profiles 2016

The market is full of many tech distributors who cater to all sorts of different needs. As a result, it can be difficult for resellers to pinpoint the best supplier for their needs. PCR rounds up some of the different disties and the services they offer.

Tech Data

Contact: 01256 788 000
techdata.co.uk

Tech Data says it offers its customers specialist support in key areas of the market, underpinned by exceptional product choice with more than 30,000 stock items from over 150 manufacturers available for next-day delivery. 

Its vendor portfolio covers a wide range of technology across AV, components, consumer electronics, enterprise, mobile, networking, PC systems, print, software and supplies. 

The firm says businesses rely on Tech Data and its collection of specialists to provide sales and technical advice – and to deliver the products they need to meet their customers’ requirements.

Westcoast

Contact: 0118 912 6000
westcoast.co.uk

Westcoast is the innovative & fast growing £1.5bn specialist UK independent distributor that has over 30 years’ experience of developing and operating a class leading range of specialist services that provide service excellence, exceptional value and commercial advantage for Vendors, Resellers and Retailers.

The company is an expert in innovative, low cost distribution and successful go-to market strategies. Distributing a wide portfolio of vendor products, Westcoast offers high quality and 100% genuine print, scan and supplies products. 

Notably, two key acquisitions this year have opened up new opportunities for Westcoast’s partners and strengthened the company’s skills across 3D printing with ArtSystem. Westcoast France now provides an excellent base to continue to grow our European supplies business.

VIP

Contact: 0192 528 6900
vip-computers.com/uk

Based in Warrington, VIP is one of the UK’s largest independent distributors of PC components, gaming peripherals and IT products.

The company says is has been at the heart of the IT distribution channel for 25 years, and its company motto of ‘Delivering Value in Distribution’ emphasises its focus on adding value across each and every stage of the order process.VIP’s portfolio is packed with a wide range vendors including AMD, AOC, ASUS, BenQ, Corsair, EVGA, Gigabyte, Intel, MSI, Nvidia, Palit, Razer and Sapphire, amongst others.

The firm also says that it is one of the UK’s leading PC gaming hardware distributors with some of the best known gaming hardware brands amongst its line-up.

M2M Direct

Contact: 0208 676 6067
m2m-direct.co.uk

M2M was founded in 1998 as a specialist memory and storage distributor working directly with world-class manufacturers and suppliers such as Samsung Semi-Conductor and Samsung Electronics, Micron Electronics (Crucial Technology and Lexar) and SK Hynix. 

The distributor also boasts a compressive product line, including memory modules, portable media, solid state drives, hard drives, optical drives, processors, graphics cards, flash memory drives and enterprise server products.

The company recently announced the launch of a new enterprise division, focusing on factors including analytics, big data, InMemory databases, application performance monitoring and acceleration and seismic analysis.

Centerprise

Contact: 01256 378000
centerprise.co.uk

Centerprise Distribution was originally created 20 years ago, as a division of Centerprise International, the Basingstoke-based IT solutions provider. 

The division specialises in the distribution of ruggedised hardware and has grown since its conception. A strong partnership with Panasonic has contributed to this success, making Centerprise Distribution one of the largest UK distributors of Panasonic Toughbooks and Toughpads.

Centerprise Distribution also supplies a range of rugged hardware to IT resellers across the UK.

Hama

Contact: 0333 123 4262
uk.hama.com

Founded in 1990 as a distributor of photo accessories, Hama UK has been providing high-quality products to the UK market for over 25 years, successfully branching out into new areas such as AV, optics, computer accessories, home decor and white goods. Part of Europe’s largest accessory group and with newly refined logistical operations based out of Belgium, Hama UK are currently able to offer an extensive range of over 9,500 lines to retailers and trade customers across the country for the complete one-stop smart solution.

The past 12 months saw Hama move from its UK warehouse to the state-of-the-art Hama Belgium facility in the latter half of 2015. This allowed the streamlining of the order and dispatch process in addition to drastically improving stock availability and range. The company has also successfully recruited 3 new Regional Sales Managers to our on-the-road sales team during the year in a drive to further improve its services to independent retailers nationwide. This was followed by the relocation of the UK Headquarters in June 2016 to new, modern offices with expansive showroom.

Peak Development

Contact: 0148 979 6979
peak-uk.com 

Peak Development (Peak) has been established for over 20 years with a trusted reputation in the distribution of high quality accessories. It deals with a focused range of vendors from global brands such as SanDisk, Sony and Sennheiser to niche brands like wearables specialist Lifetrak and a value range from Bitmore. 

Peak believes that its willingness to work hard for retailers to make the most of all the products it sells sets it apart. 

The company doesn’t deal with hundreds and hundreds of vendors, so each brand gets real focus and each customer gets to deal with a genuine brand specialist.

The last 12 months have been a busy time for Peak Development which has seen some new faces join the team, such as new business development manager Mark Haddleton and product manager Lauren Curtis. The company has also brought on some new Vendors such as Defunc, Acme and Lifetrak.

Peak has invested heavily in the Bitmore VR Eye Virtual Reality headset which it says has been a really exciting product to develop. VR Eye sees Peak expanding into new technologies and new categories, giving the company great optimism as to what it can achieve in 2017.

Entatech

Contact: 0333 101 1000
entaonline.com

Celebrating over 25 years in business, Entatech is a 100% trade only UK distributor focusing on four key areas: PC Components & gaming, networking and connected home, systems and peripherals, and software and solutions. Although not a broad line distributor, the company is a specialist within the areas in which we operate and are dedicated to supporting our customer base. Entatech currently partners with 75 manufacturers, including Microsoft, Intel and Corsair and boasts a portfolio of over 12,000 products. Entatech supplies innovative products at competitive prices, accompanied by a friendly approach and an award winning sales team

The last 12 months have been exciting for Entatech with new service introductions and the launch of the new version of the company’s e-commerce website, Entaonline.com, which has been 2 years in the making. The new platform has been designed with simplicity, ease of use and a seamless purchasing experience in mind for customers, whilst also offering the same great price you receive from your dedicated Account Manager. 

In addition to its new e-commerce platform Entatech has also launched PC Retour, the company’s Microsoft certified refurbished hardware and devices offering. This brand provides customers with a new revenue stream with fantastic margin opportunities.

Exertis

Contact: 0125 670 7070
exertis.co.uk

Exertis is one of Europe’s largest and fastest growing technology distribution and specialist service providers.

 We partner with 360 global technology brands and over 28,850 resellers and retailers across Europe. In our most recent financial year to 31st March 2016, Exertis had a turnover of £2.44 billion (EUR 3.17 billion). The Exertis group’s scale, knowledge and experience in the technology sector and complete end-to-end product portfolio, enables us to deliver innovative solutions and market leading services for our partners, across Supply Chain Services, Sales & Distribution, Marketing, PR and Digital services. 

 During the past year Exertis has strengthened its Gaming proposition across PC Gaming, consoles and VR, providing new opportunity for all retailers. Smart Tech is now mainstream and Exertis’ investment in education and category management has enabled many retailers to be at the forefront of this growth area. New brands added to the company’s gaming portfolio means that Exertis is the pre-eminent distributor for console and PC gaming, supplying hardware, titles, software, accessories and component upgrades for every conceivable need. VR has taken centre stage and Exertis is well positioned to service and help grow this nascent market, and finally, many retailers (independents and multiples) wishing to transition from physical to digital sales instore have engaged with Exertis and its digital download technology, POS and support services.

Smithie Distribution

Contact: 0125 684 4028
smithieuk.com

Smithie UK was established in 2003 and has since grown to become a highly successful, brand dedicated IT distributor, with a sales force boasting over 40 years combined experience. Diversification has seen them also become a dominant force in the LED lighting market, offering complete solutions, from initial design layouts through to specification and supply of high quality, energy efficient LED lights.

The company has also recently announced that it has been appointed as the distributor for ASUS optical disc drive (ODD) products to the UK channel.

Commenting on the appointment, ASUS UK Country Manager OPBG, Jonathan Parmar, said, “ASUS is committed to the ODD market and see opportunities for continued growth thanks to our comprehensive range of award-winning products. We are excited to work with Smithie UK, who have unmatched expertise in this sector. Together we look forward to even greater success in the future.

“Having the ASUS brand added to their already extensive portfolio will undoubtedly provide further opportunity for growth and enhance the offering that Smithie UK provide. With Samsung pulling out of the ODD business, this is a very well timed development.”

Spire Technology

Contact: 01202 828444
spire.co.uk

Established in 1990, Spire Technology Ltd has seen steady growth in the field of trade-only computer distribution. 

The firm says its unrivalled commitment to the UK IT channel and focus on its customers’ needs has made it one of the UK’s leading distributors of computer components, peripherals and consumer electronic products.

Spire’s portfolio currently stands at more than 1,500 products from over 30 vendors including Asus, TP-Link, BullGuard, BeQuiet! and Cougar to name a few. 

Spire says in a statement: “With this mix of quality, reliability and price, Spire Technology should be your one-stop shop for all your IT needs.”

DirekTek

Contact: 01494 471 100
direktek.co.uk

Since its formation in 1991, DirekTek Ltd. says it has become Britain’s leading distributor of consumer electronics and digital imaging products, working with brands such as Canon, Sennheiser, Samsung and Sony. 

It says that it’s the essential business partner for any company planning to enter or grow their market share in this dynamic sector. DirekTek stocks a comprehensive product portfolio, and offers an extensive product range with bespoke bundles including a wide spread of accessories. There’s also a home delivery service available.

CMS Distribution

Contact: 0143 884 2350
cmsdistribution.com

Established in 1988, CMS Distribution is Europe’s leading specialist distributor of consumer technologies. CMS sells to resellers, high street retailers and etailers. 

The company employs over 250 people across seven locations in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. UK office locations are London, Stevenage and Harrogate. The 44,000 sq. ft logistics and integration centre, located in Castleford, West Yorkshire, has advanced systems to ensure optimised availability and fast delivery for customers. 

The company helps IT vendors and channel partners grow their business by taking emerging technologies to market while helping to develop already established brands using a wide range of value added services.

 In May 2016, the company acquired Widget Group, an award winning distributor of emerging technology, further strengthening CMS Distribution’s position in the European market. In August 2016, CMS completed the integration of Widget UK Ltd into CMS Distribution Ltd, now with an expanded product range represents leading manufacturers within the retail space, including Fitbit, SanDisk, TomTom, Tile and HTC.

Ingram Micro

Contact: 0871 973 3000
uk.ingrammicro.com

The company’s UK operations have been established for over 20 years since opening in 1991, with its head office in Milton Keynes.

There are also offices in Maidenhead and at the purpose built 244,000sq ft distribution centre in Crick, Northamptonshire. 

Ingram Micro employs over 400 associates providing over 10,000 resellers, working with the leading IT vendors, including Cisco, HP, Microsoft, Motorola and Nokia to name a few, with more than 40,000 product lines complemented by comprehensive value added services.

Mentor Distribution

Contact: 0146 281 4000
mentor-distribution.com

Since 1991, Mentor Distribution has been a trade-only distributor of IT and AV equipment. The company is Iiyama’s longest serving UK distributor and stocks other brands including NEC, Iiyama, Toshiba, ASUS, Chief, ASRock Rack, Humanscale and AG Neovo. In recent years, the firm has expanded into manufacturing its own touchscreens, privacy monitors and server solutions. Mentor Distribution also offers additional services such as logo printing and spraying bezels. 

During the last 12 months, the company has focused its efforts into increasing its stock holding of displays, the iiyama brand in particular. Mentor consistently shows more Iiyama product lines in stock than any other UK distributor, on stock in the channel. The company has also increased its server offering to include brands such as ASRock Rack and Gigabyte.

Northamber

Contact: 020 8296 7066
northamber.com

Northamber is is the longest established independent trade only IT distributor in the UK, with over 36 years of experience.

Northamber’s Distribution division prides itself in providing its 5,000+ resellers with personal account managers, a “no voicemail” policy, industry leading product knowledge and a wealth of services to drive reseller profitability.

The solutions division focuses on driving profitable growth for resellers with deep industry and product expertise, demand generation, enhanced marketing and a UK exclusive set of products and services. Northamber’s enriched set of logistics, configuration, storage, installation and conference services and facilities further enhance their resellers’ profit opportunities.

 In the last year, Northamber has grown its distribution and solutions teams. Product specialists have brought exclusive offers, new vendors and products along with a high level of industry and product expertise to their reseller base. 

The heavy value-add and vertical driven approach continues to attract new vendors to Northamber (including Genee World, iboss, Allied Telesis, Altaro, Asustor, Armor, Bomgar, Kodak, Kramer and Samsung, with more in the pipeline) as they value the focus, expertise, demand generation and key events. The company recently hosted the wildly popular Northamber EXPO’16 which brought vendors and resellers together to grow business and to hear from industry experts GfK & CompTIA on new markets and opportunities.