D&H Extends Financing Terms to Help Partners Amid COVID-19

D&H Distributing is extending its financing terms to give MSPs and VARs more flexibility amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The distributor has extended the exclusive 60-day repayment terms it arranged with financing partner DLL until the end of 2021. It originally extended its financing terms through DLL beyond the standard 30-day repayment schedule last spring.

Sales through this program increased approximately 85% in the past year to date, year over year. Since so many of D&H’s partners benefited from this offering, the distributor negotiated to maintain the 60-day term opportunity throughout the new year.

Partners throughout North America will get 60-day repayment terms instead of 30 days on all purchases through DLL. Solution providers don’t have to take any additional action.

Helping Partners During COVID-19

Matt Riley is director of credit and financial services at D&H.

D&H Distributing’s Matt Riley

“Early in the pandemic, there was substantial demand for extended payment terms to help manage cash flow,” he said. “With the sudden economic interruption, our partners were facing end customers who were having difficulties meeting payment obligations. The extended terms allowed our partners to continue to work with their end customers without damaging their cash flow or incurring additional borrowing.”

Partners have used the extended terms as a tool to aggressively win new business, Riley said. They’ve done so by offering their customers flexible payment terms. They’ve also taken a stronger inventory position on devices, which continue to be in high demand.

“Everything we do is partner-focused, and our credit and finance solutions are no different,” Riley said. “It became clear to us that this was the sort of straightforward solution that would be impactful in providing ongoing value to our partners.”

Partners have told D&H the program has been a differentiator for their business, he said. It reduced borrowing costs from traditional lenders and helped grow their business.

Customized Credit Plans

Last spring, many of D&H’s SMB partners got customized credit plans to help them stay viable and keep their essential business customers supplied with critical technology throughout the crisis.

Since so many organizations required excessive amounts of remote work and learning equipment in a period of days or weeks, many channel partners couldn’t have accommodated the influx of orders without extended credit. Other partners needed additional resources due to the contraction of funds elsewhere in the market.

Between April and May of 2020 alone, D&H issued close to $50 million in new credit to channel partners. As of this month, that total has grown to nearly $150 million in credit provided by D&H across the United States and Canada.

D&H’s credit options also include the no-fee Assignment of Funds program, which helps partners take on larger projects from credit-worthy entities such as government and educational institutions. This lets partners accommodate greater-than-normal sales during school and government purchasing seasons.