Tarsus Distribution understands the importance of creating a meaningful experience for its partners, which has led the company to create a digital e-commerce and self-service platform – the Tarsus Distribution Portal – to help enhance the service it provides.
Chris Larkins, Business Unit Manager for Enterprise at Tarsus Distribution, points out that the portal is a B2B business tool that feels like B2C – utilising technology to support partners with their business 24/7, securely and from anywhere.
“We have now enhanced the offerings within the portal through the integration of HPE iQuote, which is populated with Tarsus-specific content such as stock and promotional pricing and helps to create a user-friendly experience and accurate way to configure servers for partners,” he explains.
“The beauty of using the HPE iQuote tool within the portal is that it offers partners a better overall experience. Not only is TDP available 24/7, meaning partners can use it at a time and place that suits them, but it helps streamline the partner’s sales and purchasing process with easy access to product information, competitive pricing, stock availability, document access and order management.”
He adds that it even offers the possibility for partners to create timely discounted offers for add-ons, ultimately making it easy for them to obtain, configure and price an entry-level HPE solution for their end customers.
Larkins explains that the tool is designed to be intuitive, which makes it easy to work with, while its capabilities allow it to offer a one-stop experience. HPE has built a discount process into iQuote, known as HPE Flex Offers, which provides pre-approved competitive discount pricing to the market for volume-type offerings.
“Once you pass a certain attach threshold, the discount process kicks in. This eliminates the tedious wait to obtain a better price for the end customer. At the checkout point where the quote is generated, the tool delivers a valid, discounted and aggressively priced quote, speeding up and simplifying the process,” he notes.
“The good news is that this offering is already live and available to any Tarsus-registered partner. I would recommend that partners have a go and try it out. Accessing HPE iQuote is simple – you register for access or log in at portal.tarsusdistribution.co.za, navigate to ‘My Tools’, select ‘EnterpriseHub’ and then ‘Launch iQuote’, and you can experience all its capabilities.”
Larkins notes that distributors sometimes struggle to give partners the experience they demand, which is why Tarsus’ ability to be the most responsive organisation in the marketplace is a huge differentiator, thanks to the accuracy and validity of iQuote. He says the sheer speed of the solution, along with its ability to ensure technical compatibility and enhance the sale by reminding partners of add-ons they may have forgotten – such as implementation services and operating systems – helps set Tarsus apart from its competition.
“In a digitising and service-driven world, the traditional ‘box dropping’ partners are under increasing pressure, as they are providing a service that can essentially be replaced by a tool. We see our role as being to assist them in moving up the value chain to talk about their service offerings and to help them position other value adds as a partner.”
“Our goal is to enable our partners to be more relevant to the marketplace and help them progress, as raising them to a higher level is ultimately beneficial to us and them. Our aim is to be seen as a truly trusted advisor by offering good, grounded advice and access to the latest digital solutions like HPE iQuote, thereby helping our partners to cement a similar status with their end customers,” concludes Larkins.
Share