12 INTERVIEW // ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
helping partners grow Reseller Middle East Editor Anita Joseph caught up with Lars Schmermbeck, Senior Director, Channel Sales EMEA, Zebra Technologies, to learn more about their channel partner program and how they help partners grow and differentiate their service offerings in a changing market. L Lars Schmermbeck, Senior Director, Channel Sales EMEA, Zebra Technologies As in all ecosystems, the key to harmony is balance: our partners believe in Zebra’s offerings, invest themselves in sales and receive a competitive return on their investments. Our channel partner relationships are ultimately about meeting customers’ needs and providing them with the added value they seek.
T
Lars Schmermbeck, Senior Director, Channel Sales EMEA, Zebra Technologies
ell us more about Zebra Technologies’ channel partner program. What are the highlights? Zebra’s channel engagement and collaboration is one that is part of a larger partner ecosystem comprising multiple partner communities with different business models that allows us to reach our customers. Zebra’s PartnerConnect program is
focused on opportunity, profitability and simplicity for channel partners and has been designed to accomplish three strategic goals: • Encourage and enable sales across the entire product and services portfolio • Reward and support partners differently based on their business model and growth strategy • Develop new, profitable revenue streams around intelligent edge solutions
www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2021
What does it mean to be a channel partner with Zebra Technologies? How can partners grow and differentiate their product service offerings in the new normal? Zebra’s PartnerConnect channel program is constantly evolving. The creation of new tracks varies to adapt its program to the regional needs and market maturity. For example, two partner program specialisations in RFID and healthcare were developed by Zebra in 2020, giving opportunities to our partners to differentiate themselves. Zebra works in close collaboration with distributors at regional and local level. Our Independent Software Vendor (ISV) community has an important role to play in Zebra’s partner ecosystem and through Zebra’s developer portal, ISVs can access software development tools and resources. By joining forces, vendors and partners can achieve far more than they can separately. In today’s connected world, collaboration that reaches across continents, languages and cultures is both possible and expected. A global audience demands a global network of partners capable of delivering the right solutions. Collaboration fuels mutually beneficial growth. Within the context of a channel ecosystem, the global health crisis has underscored how important it is for resellers, distributors, integrated
