Counter Intelligence
“An IT manager is someone we never dealt with, but now the convergence factor has brought them squarely into the decision-making process and so we have to train our 
people, in not just the products, but also in the ability to work with a very different type of customer than we ever spoke to before,” Roth says.
Also having a significant effect on the supply channel is the fact that network technologies are being developed faster than ever. Therefore, product longevity is plunging.
“When products become digital opposed to analog it does a lot things. It speeds up product refresh rates; new products are advanced even more quickly,” says Tony Sorrentino, vice president of merchandising for ScanSource Security Distribution of Greenville, S.C.
The result is antiquated products become a major issue for manufacturers, and by extension, distributors. Equipment makers are loathe to have products scattered about the country they have to cover because of obsolescence. “We’ve had to become agile. We were a very conservative industry for a long time and now we have to deal with product lifecycles we didn’t have to worry about before,” says Earl Snyder, purchasing manager for Earth City, Mo.-based Security Equipment Supply (SES), a regional distributor concentrated mainly in the Midwest.
“We have to make sure we have the right product on the shelf at the right time. You always have to have your mind open to new technologies and new ideas and do the best guess on how it’s going to impact your business.” The imperative for internal staff to quickly acquire skills and knowledge about new technologies also extends to the decision-making process of when and what new products are selected for distribution.
“If I take on a new product line or a new portion of an existing vendor’s line, the first question out of my mouth is ‘how are we going to train our people so that they have a comfort level in selling this product intelligently to their dealers?’” says Snyder. “That is one of the main factors of picking additional lines.”
Training: Never More Vital
More than ever training is a distributor’s key asset in establishing and maintaining relationships with dealer clientele. Security contractors and technicians are being acclimated to today’s (and tomorrow’s) security systems thanks to distributors that are providing the training rooms and expertise required to design systems with the products they can offer.
“The best customer is an educated dealer. Somebody who can now go out and find new opportunities and sell the products that we have on the shelf,” Sorrentino says.
A potential growth impediment on the distribution horizon materializes when Sorrentino peers into his crystal ball: “If there wasn’t the technology change taking place where everything is going IP my view would be different, but because we know everything is moving to the network one of the biggest challenges is to provide and prepare people and get them ready for the next generation of product.”
ScanSource, like most distributors, works with its manufacturer partners to host training workshops of various flavors. For instance, its three-day IP workshop series is being held in eight cities across the country and offers primers on network concepts, IP-based video surveillance and wireless applications. “The training is about the technology and not about the product features of a specific manufacturer,” Sorrentino says.
Among its wealth of educational opportunities, ADI partners with Slayton Solutions Ltd., a provider of online and instructor-led training in fiber optics and networking of security equipment, to host instruction at the local level.
Utilizing its 110 branch locations throughout North America, ADI’s extensive training agenda features its Expo seminars, NICET fire alarm preparation courses, basic and advanced networking/IP training, structured wiring, CEDIA Home Theater Audio Boot Camps, and National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) classes, among many others.
“We have invested in training rooms at pretty much all of our branch locations. These training rooms can be costly to the company as far as real estate goes,” Sullivan says. “But we believe it is important as the marketplace is evolving and our dealers depend on
us to provide them a place to go to be trained on the latest technology.”
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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