D&H Adds Panasonic Toughbooks To Lineup
The Toughbook product line, available to the channel now through the Harrisburg, Pa.-based distributor, is engineered to resist shock, pressure and environmental conditions and is targeted at mobile users who work in industries such as construction, utilities or environmental agencies.
"They're the leader in that space of having ruggedized and semi-rugged mobile devices, and we think it's going to be tremendous for our reseller base," said Dan Schwab, vice president of marketing at D&H. "Our relationship with Panasonic is predicated on focusing on the SMB market space, which is our strength," he added.
So far, several VARs have bought Toughbooks from D&H, and those partners are new to selling Panasonic products, according to Schwab. The addition of new vendors like Panasonic, Lenovo and Cisco Systems helps expand D&H's base of VAR partners, he said. In August, for example, the distributor announced that it would begin selling desktop and notebook PCs from Lenovo.
"It's not so much about increasing channel presence. What drives D&H's mind-set is really our customers and focusing on what needs they have," Schwab said. "I think we used to be very strong in peripherals and components, and today we are really known as a full-line distributor."
Schwab said that D&H isn't currently looking to add more products to its mobility lineup, but the distributor is always on the lookout for new technology that it can bring to SMB VARs.
"Our focus now is to drive our current vendors and help them get into new channels and new customer bases," he said.
Mike Shay, owner of Affordable Computers, a Hanover, Pa.-based VAR, said the Toughbook might be a tough sell in the SMB space because of its price tag.
"Most people don't want to spend the money on them. They're going to be a lot more expensive," Shay said. "Most people don't want a Toughbook until something happens to the other laptop that they have, and then they'll say, 'I should have bought a Toughbook.' "