CRN Exclusive: Panasonic Launches Revamped Toughbook Partner Program
Panasonic is rolling out an overhauled Authorized Reseller Program for its Toughbook line of rugged mobile devices, with the aim of better integrating partners into the Panasonic device business.
The moves include doubling the amount of market development funds that are available to channel partners, upping the discount offered to partners for purchases of demo units and setting up a channel team within Panasonic that's exclusively focused on mobility.
Channel partners handle nearly all sales of Toughbook devices, which fall under Panasonic Solutions for Business, a unit of Newark, N.J.-based Panasonic Corporation of North America.
[Related: Panasonic Demos New ToughPad Products]
Feedback from partners was behind the changes to the four-tier Toughbook reseller program, which currently has 300 partners..
Paul Zoz, CEO of Lincoln, Neb.-based Bizco Technologies, a longtime Panasonic partner, told CRN that "we honestly had some concerns" about how the Toughbook channel program had been operating in recent years, but "we've seen some very aggressive action [from Panasonic] to make some adjustments in the program."
"They could've easily waited until next year to make the changes, but this got pushed through very quickly, which is good news for everybody," Zoz said.
In particular, Zoz said the moves around MDF are welcome at his firm. Along with boosting the amount of market development funds available, Panasonic has loosened some requirements in the program with the aim of making it easier for partners to access the funds, Panasonic executives told CRN.
"We used to have to go and make a case for every event, and everything we wanted funding for. Now we have a checkbook up to a certain amount," Zoz said. "That puts the power in the reseller's hands to make the best decisions for how to invest that money, which is great."
The discount for purchasing Toughbook demo units has gone from 50 percent to 70 percent, he said, "which will save us a lot of money right now, and increase the number of demo products we have on hand."
That's crucial because Toughbook is a "highly customizable product" that customers typically want to try hands-on—and often, customers prefer to do a tryout for one or two months, Zoz said.
In recent months, Panasonic has also retooled its channel organization so that Toughbook partners will be better served, said Magnus McDermid, senior vice president of Panasonic's Business Mobility Group for North America.
A previous strategy of having Panasonic's channel team handle multiple different products was causing "confusion in the channel," McDermid said. "We felt a little bit out of touch in some places with our reseller partners."
In response, the company has launched a mobility-focused channel team and added a half-dozen new positions for it, as well as new leadership. The Toughbook channel team is now led by Dominick Passanante, senior director for channel sales in the Business Mobility Group at Panasonic.
"Historically we were relying on various field salespeople to do the training for us," Zoz said. "Now, with the implementation of partner sales managers, it should ensure that our staff is up to speed on all the products."
Panasonic has also committed to holding more events to connect with its Toughbook partners. For instance, the company recently took some of its top resellers to Japan to visit its manufacturing facilities—a trip that Zoz attended, and which he said signaled "a huge amount of commitment to the channel."
"We've definitely seen a change in the investment in partners" from Panasonic, he said.
McDermid said that "the whole point around [the revamped program] is to really help engage with our partners at a deeper level … and hopefully the new program will drive better margins."
The Toughbook line includes rugged laptops, tablets and handheld devices. Products include the Toughbook 20, a laptop with a detachable display that was a finalist in CRN's 2016 Tech Innovator Awards. Panasonic is planning to launch additional Toughbook products in 2017, McDermid said.