It’s said that the only constant in life is change, and this certainly holds true for technology.
Channelwise caught up with Ryan Martyn, founder and director of Syntech, to talk about the changing world of technology, new consumer requirements, emerging partner imperatives and the role of the distributor.
Q: How have customer/partner requirements changed over the last couple of years (and why)?
A: The last two-and-a-half years have brought about sweeping changes in the way we live, work and play – but the foundation for much of what we see today has been building for years in the form of new technology innovations.
The net result is that consumers today are better informed than ever before and know just what they want – and this means that resellers have had to change the way they engage with customers.
It’s noticeable how much more sophisticated and better-informed consumers are today compared to just a couple of years ago.
Not long ago, the IT expertise used to exist in the channel, but it doesn’t just reside there anymore because consumers now know so much.
As a result, many products have become more commoditised. And, because of life-changing global events like Covid-19, product has become a lot more accessible to more people in so many ways.
Customers now have access to new channels and new competitors both locally and abroad. With the widespread adoption of e-commerce, consumers can buy their tech directly from source, or from any supplier anywhere in the world – and the reseller is in danger of being cut out of the equation.
In my view, this combination of an informed consumer, commoditised product and vendors that are more vertically integrated makes it difficult for resellers and traditional IT companies to operate and maintain value.
Having said that, our isolation here in South Africa means these trends are taking a bit longer to take off here than in the rest of the world as it is that bit harder for a lot of service providers to compete in this market.
So resellers still operate in a safer environment, with more opportunities than companies in many other territories.
This can also work in favour of innovative resellers and distributors who can take advantage of highly complex businesses, relative to revenues and low cost structures in global terms, to sell their services into other markets. There is an opportunity to offer fantastic value to customers in the rest of the world.
There really aren’t enough companies doing that, grasping the opportunity to look outwards, but there is massive potential. There are examples of South African companies that have managed to scale globally – and we can do more.
How has the role of the distributor changed as a result of these shifting market dynamics?
We have tried very hard to be at the forefront of adapting to the changing market. We think distributors need to be innovating all the time, and adding different products and mixes to their offerings.
More importantly, they need to understand the complexity of the market so they can be more strategic partners in terms of sales channel, pricing, policies, and choosing support partners.
The reality is that, if the distributor is not ensuring they are constantly finding ways to enable their resellers to win and be successful, they are not properly fulfilling the role of distributor.
As a result, we have changed from simply providing access to products to taking the time to understand the reseller and how they can add value, then empowering them to do that.
We really are not just about selling products anymore.
Yes, there are still distributors that are doing that, but it’s clear that model results in lower market share. The market has moved on from the box-dropping era – customers know where to get the best pricing on products, what they are looking for is the added value.
Syntech is a two-time winner of the Channelwise Customer Care Distributor of the Year Award. Based on the scores, what is it that resellers like about Syntech?
This is such a powerful award: the fact that the results are quantified has given us a good indication of where we did well, and where we can improve.
The results showed us that resellers enjoy our product range; and that our innovation and systems stand out for them.
We put a tremendous effort into understanding the experience from a reseller point of view and trying to make it as easy and pleasant as possible to trade with Syntech.
And, looking at the results, it seems partners think we are a lekker company to work with, which is extremely gratifying.
What do you believe your main value-adds have been?
I think in reality, it often comes down to product, and we have some great products. We believe that every brand and product we represent is the best in the market.
Indeed, we are ruthless about cutting brands that don’t offer the best value to our customers which gives us the opportunity to constantly adapt and innovate.
Our ability to quickly adapt in terms of offering products and solutions that really cater to market requirements helps to set us apart.
We can quickly and agilely spot trends and adapt them because we maintain a presence in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Hong Kong and Schenzen (China).
Even during the worst days of the pandemic, we could launch and land products needed by the South African consumer faster than anyone else.
We have also brought on products that add real value. A good example is the power products: there was an issue in the country and we were able to find a solution and quickly bring it to market, giving our partners the ability to add maximum value.
In terms of day-to-day operations, we have probably the most advanced website in terms of functionality, ability to search, and the power to make a purchase.
Partners can check stock quickly and accurately because we have live listings, pricing, stock availability and stock levels.
And, if they choose to use our XML feed they can automatically port all this detail to their own websites.
So our systems are great, and our marketing depth is amazing. The marketing team has done a great job of building our brands and creating consumer demand through activities like social media, below-the-line and above-the-line campaigns.
This means that consumers can connect with the value we offer, and it’s not up to the reseller to sell that.
Our healthy stock levels complement this, so partners can be confident in their ability to sell what consumers want.
We know we are not perfect – and with the current global supply crisis, no-one can be – but we have ramped up our stockholding to be able to do as good a job as possible.
At the end of the day, it is all about the data: if resellers can trust our ability to timeously provide products, either from stock or on order, they can make the right promises to their clients. So it’s up to us to manage market expectations as well as possible.
Last year, the Channelwise Customer Care Distributor of the Year Award came down to the wire, and Syntech just pipped the opposition by a single point. What lessons have you taken away from this close call?
Isn’t is wonderful? It’s exactly what we love to see: that the market is responding to reseller needs with great value and service. It is such a positive sign that the industry is growing.
I don’t think our service levels went backwards last year – if anything we went forward. It is a positive sign of a healthy industry when everyone raises their game because it means that resellers get better choices and more options.
We want to commend every other player in the Channelwise Awards.
What we have learnt from our close call is that innovation needs to be continuous. We can’t rest on our laurels, but have to make sure we are constantly aware of our resellers’ requirements and what our competitors are doing.
Our approach has always been to build a market rather than take market share from another player. And the fact that as we grew, resellers saw value in what other distributors were doing as well, is a clear sign of market growth.
What we want to see is all the distributors in this market doing as well as Syntech is doing, because that will show that we are working in a healthy environment.
How confident are you about winning the Channelwise Customer Care Distributor of the Year Award this year?
I am so humbled by the fact that we won it twice: it is very much in our nature to remain humble and to remember we are only as good as the value we deliver today.
But we will give everything we can to keep our customers satisfied, and remain grateful that they have responded so well to our initiatives in the past.
We can only hope to continue keeping our customers happy.
What changes/improvements have you made in the last few months to ensure that Syntech’s customer care continues to stand out in the local IT industry?
We recently launched our PC Builder integration tool. This enables our resellers to build very advanced gaming computers with full benchmarking and performance.
We have taken advantage of the global growth in the gaming industry to empower more resellers with the tools to compete in this space.
We have also overhauled our website, which now includes everything resellers need to find the best product, check stock levels and order.
Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, our product range has grown. We have brought in several new brands, including power solutions that have done well with the return of load shedding and which looks like staying with us for the foreseeable future.
We have also developed our own Winx brand, which is trademarked in our Taiwan office. We have been able to consolidate a number of great products under this single brand umbrella, with great packaging and – important for our resellers – great margins.
Within our organisation, we have put in a lot of work to add structure and management layers so more people can make more meaningful and faster decisions.
We started life as a small business, but recognise that all the decisions can’t be taken by just a few directors and we’ve had to adapt the business model to reflect the company’s growth.
In fact, this has been easy to do because we took the time to recognise that the team is really good at what they do. If we have experts focusing on their parts of the business, they are going to do a much better job than if I try to do everything.
How are you growing and refining your product offering to meet changing customer and partner needs?
We continue to grow and adapt out product offering based on the market demand, adding new brands where necessary.
Syntech is starting to attract attention with many vendors recognising the value we deliver to the market. So we get a lot of invitations to take on new products – but we are very specific about the brand we will consider. Just because we are offered something to distribute doesn’t mean we will do so. If we can’t add more value than the brand is getting from an existing distributor, we would rather say no.
These policies have helped to keep our product line-up refined and focused. And, because we are focused, we are able to give our customers a better experience and service.
What plans do you have for future growth?
We have got lots of plans.
We are very excited about the PC Builder brand which we believe is going to be very valuable for our channel customers.
Winx is doing very well and we will continue to add relevant products. The Gizzu brand has also got lots of room for growth.
We are putting lots of focus on the various parts of the market where we see there is a real requirement. A good example is power: we believe this is going to be an ongoing problem – and that presents an opportunity for the industry to deliver solutions.
Our team in China is always on the lookout for innovative solutions that add value, and that will help South African companies to remain productive regardless of the power situation.
