Ingram Adds $8 Million Credit for SMB, CE Partners

Distributor Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) has added $8 million in credit available to a select group of 675 channel partners focused on SMB and consumer electronics (CE) customers. Here are a few relevant facts:

The money is aimed specifically at helping channel partners boost sales to the SMB and CE segment. Ingram maintains an SMB practice through which partners gain access to tools and resources to widen their technology, vertical market and sales knowledge, and the company also operates a dedicated CE group.

Ingram has picked out for the extended underwriting 500 SMB-focused and 175 CE-targeted channel partners, all of which were prequalified through what the distributor called a “collaborative and thorough vetting process” conducted by its credit analysts, Business Intelligence Center (BIC) and sales department. Ingram U.S. channel partners are assigned a dedicated credit analyst to find appropriate financing options and secure credit.

“By identifying high-potential partners and extending them greater credit limits, we’re helping to remove one of the biggest barriers to earning new and incremental business, and further enabling their success,” said Jamie Ferullo, Ingram Micro SMB director of Sales.

Ingram regularly evaluates channel partners’ financial profiles for credit suitability. In this case, the difference is the company proactively increased the amount of available credit rather than waiting for partners to request additional financing, as is typically the case.

Apparently, the funding already has prompted business upticks for a number of channel partners. For example, New England Systems and Software President Brian Hogan said the additional credit enabled the systems integrator to handle the schedule and budget of a recent large project.

Visionary Computer, an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) specialist, said its sales have doubled in the last year, in part owing to favorable financing options. “We needed to identify flexible financing options and get a dramatic increase in our available credit, fast,” said David Maffucci, Visionary’s president and technology director.

Ingram’s new financing option might give channel partners a little more insight into the distributor’s strategic direction: The company has been vocal about aiding channel partners to boost SMB sales but has put out less material on its CE resellers. Perhaps this move signals more to come in both segments, should ROI measurements prove favorable.