With IQ, resellers can expect to get an initial indicative bid price from HP within minutes rather than a few hours, as they did with Smart Quote. As soon as resellers accept the indicative pricing from HP, the details of the offer will be forwarded to Tech Data for adjustment and confirmation. The new system will make HP much more competitive, as resellers will be able to provide quotes much faster.
“The new IQ system is slicker and smarter and it will allow HP partners to compete much more effectively, said Ross Turner, HP Business Manager at Tech Data. ‘HP will now be responding very quickly to bid requests and we will be responding almost instantly as well, so bid prices can be confirmed in minutes. And in most cases, we expect to give customers a price that is even better than the indicative price from HP, so by listing Tech Data as their preferred distributor, resellers can expect to get the very best response and pricing on HP quotes.”
The IQ system went live last month and is now being phased in with channel partners. Existing bids requested under the previous Smart Quote system have kept in-place but these will be moved across to IQ at the end of March. Turner said that on the whole, HP partners have responded positively to the new process.