Ranked No. 107 on the Fortune 500 company list, Tech Data is one of the world’s largest global distributor of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving over 115,000+ reseller customers in over 100+ countries. Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, Tech Data offers a variety of product lines, logistics capabilities and value added services. Some of the top companies like Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Sony, Symantec and Microsoft use Tech Data’s extensive distribution network to sell their range of products.
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Tech Data Product Portfolio
Tech Data is connected to every major manufacturer, thereby offering resellers a wide range of products to choose from.
Tech Data Products fall under the following categories:
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- Components : System platforms, drives, processors, memory, motherboards, keyboards, video cards etc.
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- Networking Products: Routers, bridges, hubs, modems, local area networking switches, network interface cards (NICs), premise wiring products etc.
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- Peripherals: Printers, monitors, scanners, accessories, multimedia etc.
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- Software: Offers a range of industry’s best selling software products
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- Systems: Servers, desktops, notebooks etc.
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- Cloud: Backup and disaster recovery solutions, Infrastructure as-a-service (IaaS), security etc.
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Criteria for Becoming Tech Data Reseller
You need to be an authorized computer reseller and submit provential sales tax (PST) exemption form (wherever necessary) along with the application form.
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Steps for Becoming Tech Data Reseller
The steps involved in completing the reseller application process are given below:
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- In order to apply for a Tech Data account, firstly you need to select a region (country) where your reseller business is located.
- In order to apply for a Tech Data account, firstly you need to select a region (country) where your reseller business is located.
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- Once you have selected the location, you need to provide information related to your business in the online application form. Submitting incomplete form will delay your application process.
- Once you have selected the location, you need to provide information related to your business in the online application form. Submitting incomplete form will delay your application process.
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- You have to then select a payment option that you will use to pay for Tech Data products and services. The ‘Cash on Delivery’ option that includes ‘By Cashiers check’ and ‘Payment upon delivery by company’ is available only for U.S. resellers.
- In case, you choose the ‘Credit Card’ option, you will have to first fill the ‘Credit Card Authorization Form’ and send it to Tech Data. Credit card options that are accepted by Tech Data include Visa and MasterCard. Tech Data gives their customers net-20 day and net-30 day payment terms.
- To secure credit terms with Tech Data, specify it in the application form and you will be contacted shortly by their credit specialists.
- If you select Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Tech Data has the right to debit your account 7 days after items have been shipped and invoices. For using EFT as mode of payment, your business back account must be in United States. Once you fill the required authorization form, you are ready to use EFT for financial transactions.
- Wire transfer is another alternative payment method that Tech Data offers to their customers. Resellers who are eligible for wire transfer mode of payment are given prepayment discounts by Tech Data.
- There are taxes and fees on product shipping to certain provinces. So if you are going to ship products to provinces like Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, it is necessary to fill tax and levy forms to ensure product shipment into these provinces.
- To know TechData’s policies on payment from resellers, carefully go through the ‘Compliance Letter’ document.
- Also, before you sign-up as Tech Data customer, make sure you review their ‘Terms and Conditions of Sale’ document.
- If you are a US reseller, fax all your completed forms along with the supporting documents to Tech Data’s New Accounts Team at 905-286-6894. Make sure all the forms are fully completed, signed and dated.
- After your Tech Data reseller application is approved, you will have to pay account setup fee of $250. An email having your Tech Data account details will be sent to you. Moreover, you will also receive phone number of Tech Data’s sales team who will handle all your queries.
- Once you become Tech Data customer, you need to apply for an Electronic Commerce ID, which will enable you to have complete access of Tech Data’s online product catalog. Moreover through Electronic Commerce ID, you can also place orders online.
- Electronic Commerce ID will allow resellers to view secure regions of techdata.com site, which are otherwise inaccessible. You can contact their Electronic Commerce department at 1-800-553-7921 Ext. 77926 or go to techdata.com/ecapplication to know how to get Electronic Commerce ID and password.
- As a reseller owner, you will also have to fill a personal guaranty form. This gives assurance to your distributor that you will pay for products sold to you in the event of financial problems you might face. Personal guaranty form helps distributor to control financial risk that may arise when doing business with new clients.
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Advantages of Becoming a Tech Data Reseller
Resellers Operate their Business more successfully
Tech Data Canada and US have designed various business development programs to help resellers run their business with greater efficiency. For instance, the distributor provides TDMobility, a ground-breaking platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering, which simplifies resellers’ entry into the mobile market. It is industry’s first end-to-end platform designed to standardize how resellers sell mobile services to their customers. These services can certainly help resellers enhance their productivity and growth potential.
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Access to e-business Tools
In addition to business development programs, Tech Data offers robust e-business tools, which will enable resellers improve their efficiency, drive sales and generate more revenue. They are mentioned below
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- Online Ordering : It will enable resellers to streamline their purchasing process, as product pricing and availability is now just a mouse-click away.
- XML Integration: It supports real-time pricing and availability, ordering, order status and order tracking.
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): EDI technology helps to improve efficiency in order and product fulfillment process.
- LION online licensing: It simplifies software licensing purchasing process, which enables resellers to manage their customers’ licensing needs effortlessly.
- e-Returns: With e-Returns from Tech Data reseller, say good bye to conventional return request methods such as fax and email. Resellers can now request and receive real-time return authorizations and view the status of return requests online.
- Credit Statements Online: Any Tech Data reseller can easily access and review his reseller accounts receivable statement and credit summary online.
- Government and Educational pricing: Resellers have online access to applicable government and education promotions and pricing.
- TD Anywhere: TD Anywhere application of Tech Data allows resellers to search the Tech Data product catalog related to text you choose on any website. For instance, you could read about a new product in an online magazine, select some descriptive text in the article, and immediately search Tech Data’s online catalogue for that product.
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Get Specialized Business Unit Expertise
Tech Data offers more than just the traditional sales support services offered by other distributor. Tech Data has specialized Business Units that help to configure custom products and services as per the needs of specialized resellers. This will enable resellers to spend more time on interacting with customers and less time on procuring tailored products. The specialized Business Units can help you to assemble or upgrade products like processors, motherboards, optical drives, hard drives, memory etc.
