Ingram Micro, Partners React to Tech Data-Synnex Deal: ‘Good for Everybody’

Ingram Micro and other prominent distributors don’t seem to be sweating Tech Data and Synnex’ $7.2 billion merger.

Tech Data and Synnex earlier this week dropped the bomb that they will be combining forces to create an approximately $57 billion company. However, their rivals are calling the massive consolidation a major validation of their industry.

Kirk Robinson, U.S. chief country executive at Ingram Micro, offered an optimistic outlook on the Tech Data merger in an interview with Channel Futures.

Ingram Micro’s Kirk Robinson

“What an awesome time to be in this industry. I’m just excited. It’s always evolving and changing, whether it’s the technology or the landscape,” he said.

Robinson spoke to Channel Futures not long after meeting with Ingram’s Trust X Alliance, an exclusive group of IT solution providers. He told us what he told the partners: The channel will benefit from the merger.

“The conversation we had with the partners was, ‘This should be good for for everybody,’” Robinson said.

Robinson said resellers will remain loyal to Ingram, especially Trust X members who pay to collaborate with the distributor. He said Ingram will stay the course as Tech Data goes through the integration process.

“From our point of view, there’s a healthy respect for our competition, but we know they’re going to be quite busy,” Robinson said. “When a merger likes that comes together, they’re going to be busy for a while.”

Five Years Prior

This isn’t the first time Tech Data  acquired another distributor. The company in 2016 announced its purchase of Avnet’s technology services unit. The $2 billion-plus transaction bolstered Tech Data’s Asia-Pacific presence and gave it additional firepower in its quest to unseat Ingram in the market.

However, Robinson said that Tech Data’s previous acquisition panned out quite well for Ingram Micro. Ingram hired former Avnet employees who fit very well with its culture.

“We’re a very competitive team, and when we saw Tech Data buy Avnet, we posted some of the best numbers the company has ever seen,” Robinson said.

Do resellers and manufacturers feel positive about the merger? Robinson said it differs based on the reseller’s perspective. Similarly, vendors will differ based on their existing relationships with the Tech Data and Synnex. They’ll need to evaluate the overlap, Robinson said.

#Cybersecurity Vendors On Board with @SYNNEX–@Tech_Data Merger https://t.co/kbYXo3ofP5

— Edward Gately (@EdwardGately) March 24, 2021

A Changing Landscape

Michael Schwab, co-president of Illinois-based D&H Distributing, called the Tech Data acquisition one of the biggest he has ever seen in the industry. Like Robinson, he also expressed a positive outlook. For him, the deal represents a serious validation of the distribution industry.

“From my perspective I’m not sure distribution’s ever been valued as highly as it is today, [as well as] the role we play in helping the manufacturers and reselling partners facilitate their success,” Schwab said.

D&H’s Michael Schwab

Avant Communications CEO Ian Kieninger agreed that consolidation represents a “maturing market.”

However, the acquisition also indicates a key shift in the market that partners dare not ignore. Schwab said cloud-based services and solutions matter just as much as product delivery now.

“IT equipment historically was perhaps a little more transactional. You had routers and switches and notebooks and servers. We would have the product in inventory. We would be competitive in our go-to-market pricing. You would essentially measure success on top-line revenue and our ability to grow each and every year,” he said.

Now distributors and their partners need to enhance their offerings to include more than just hardware.

“We want to continue to lean in to make sure our sell-out capabilities are more than the hardware itself, but all the integrated, value-oriented services that go along with that,” he said.

MNJ Technologies Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Niernberg observed the same trend.

“We are changing at a pace that’s faster than ever before, and the need…