As Supply Chain Issues Persist, MSPs Struggle to Navigate Customer Service Delivery
Equipment backlog, product delays, the Amazon effect, and other issues that are keeping MSPs up at night.
May 6, 2022
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Triton Networks’ Ron Lovern: “Product right now is killing us because of all the backlog that we have with equipment. Our projects are getting more and more complex; the biggest piece for us is managing those processes. So, as far as service delivery, what keeps us up at night are those massive delays everyone is experiencing.
“We think, ‘Well, this service is supposed to be delivered tomorrow … oh wait, no, it’s been pushed off for another two to three weeks.’ That’s happening all the time, and it’s extremely frustrating.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “You also have the Amazon effect working against you. Clients place an order and expect it to be on their doorstep the next day. With the supply chain the way it is, that is just simply not the case.
“And the logistics side of it … you try to plan these engagements, especially if you’re in a high-growth mode, but you find out rather quickly that being dependent on the supply chain is causing all sorts of problems. If something doesn’t show up when it’s supposed to, you have a crew of people ready to implement who are just sitting on their thumbs not knowing what to do. It’s causing a lot of disruptions for sure.”
Stronghold Data’s Jason Rincker: “At Stronghold/New Charter, we do a lot of communication on the sales cycle, and are really trying to set expectations where they need to be. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market right now. For example, you can’t get switches hardly at all. Yes, you can get lower-quality switches, but are they the right fit? Having those kinds of conversations helps, though, as timing can be massively subject to change. Set the expectations early in the sales conversation, and give yourself some wiggle room.
“We’re telling our clients that once we get the material or the supplies in, that’s when we’ll schedule the project. It’s all about communication.”
Stronghold Data’s Jason Rincker: “What keeps us up at night is we’re going to have to start developing more soft skills with our service delivery; we see that some of that is lacking.
“We need a two-pronged approach with our clients. You have the technical approach and that relationship approach at the leadership level. We are working on vision casting — really trying to understand where our customers are wanting to go. Our objective is to understand their business goals. So again, the soft skills from a technical standpoint and then developing the people that can really engage it at a more business goal-oriented company is key.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “We just hired a vice president of supply chain. Whether you’re a small or large environment, you have to think of the supply chain in a whole different way. It can’t be an elementary school thinking process. You need to have college graduate thinking; in essence, to be able to do things right and navigate logistics. Your customers are buying a service; they are trusting in us to be able to present the best solution. So you have to be a little bit agnostic, even in how you quote things from the sales side.”
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed: “We just hired a vice president of supply chain. Whether you’re a small or large environment, you have to think of the supply chain in a whole different way. It can’t be an elementary school thinking process. You need to have college graduate thinking; in essence, to be able to do things right and navigate logistics. Your customers are buying a service; they are trusting in us to be able to present the best solution. So you have to be a little bit agnostic, even in how you quote things from the sales side.”
Supply chain issues continue to dominate technology conversations. As a result, service delivery to customers is still a rather significant, crippling hurdle for a large number of MSPs. The first tangible signs of the supply chain disruption arrived with the onset of the pandemic, and the proverbial ship has yet to right itself, even two years later.
Triton Networks’ Ron Lovern
Meanwhile, partners are left wringing their hands, uncertain how to navigate these choppy supply chain waters. This impact presents an ongoing and very real challenge for not just MSPs, but their clients as well.
Stronghold Data’s Jason Rincker
Channel Futures once again invited partners to join its MSP Roundtable at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference & Expo. The inaugural roundtable took place last November, featuring several key partners.
This spring’s MSP Roundtable participants were:
Ron Connelly, vice president of technical operations, DP Solutions.
Christopher Carter, CEO, Approyo.
Ron Lovern, executive vice president, Triton Networks.
Jason Rincker, sales director, Stronghold Data.
Charmis De Boer, chief operating officer, Innovation Networks.
Matthew Humphries, managing partner, Allied Technology Group.
Neil Medwed, executive director of strategic partnerships, Meriplex.
Meriplex’s Neil Medwed
In part one of this three-part series, see our slideshow above to find out what participants had to say about MSPs’ most pressing issues in terms of supply chain issues, and forward-looking opportunities in terms of service delivery to customers.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Allison Francis or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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