GTDC: CROs can grow with distribution

The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) is reminding chief revenue officers (CROs) of the benefits of working with its members to accelerate growth.

The channel organisation has issued a report with Channelnomics targeting CROs to explain the role distributors play in a successful go-to-market strategy and the proven benefits that partners can deliver.

“CROs and heads of sales are under constant pressure to drive growth while managing the cost and complexity of their go-to-market operations,” the GTDC report stated. “For technology vendors, the indirect-sales channel – particularly distribution – is a proven path to scalable revenue, broader market reach and operational efficiency.”

The challenge is for the industry to get that message across to CROs who might not understand or appreciate the role that distribution plays in the supply chain.

“For many sales leaders, distribution remains underappreciated or misunderstood – often seen merely as a logistics layer or an added cost rather than a strategic asset,” the GTDC report added. “Distribution plays a critical role in enabling vendors to expand their presence in markets where direct operations are impractical because of logistical challenges, regulatory complexity or limited internal resources.

“Distributors serve as the connective layer between vendors and the broader partner ecosystem, offering infrastructure, financing, compliance, enablement and market development services that accelerate sales and reduce risk. When leveraged effectively, distributors allow vendors to scale faster, operate more efficiently and achieve greater channel alignment.”

Given the wide range of enablement and sales support distribution can offer, the GTDC report walks CROs though the marketing and demand generation and product management functions that sit alongside the logistics and partner recruitment that CROs expect from a partner.

“Distributors are a meeting point where partners can source products and services from multiple vendors to create systems with value greater than the sum of their parts,” the report added..

There were also warnings that although hyperscaler marketplaces appeared to be an alternative to distribution, those platforms did not always match the depth of functions that were offered by the channel.

“Distribution is a mainstay of the channel go-to-market model, providing support and resources to vendors and partners,” said the report. “Increasingly, though, hyperscaler marketplaces are taking on the qualities of distributors. Sometimes they compete; sometimes they collaborate and complement each other. To be clear, this doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. CROs should consider the unique attributes of each model and align them with their objectives.”

The other mistake CROs might make is to view distribution as a historic route-to-market without appreciating the evolution and innovation that has happened across that tier of the channel.

“Distribution isn’t a static business model or a fixed segment of the channel,” the report stated. “Distributors around the world are rapidly modernising their capabilities to serve vendors and downstream solution providers better. As the market evolves, distributors are investing in operational efficiency and productivity gains that translate into measurable value, delivering revenue growth and cost savings across the ecosystem.

“While Amazon and other marketplaces may have pioneered digital commerce, distributors are quickly closing the gap by developing next-generation platforms that integrate marketplace features with artificial intelligence and advanced management tools. Examples including Ingram Micro’s Xvantage, TD Synnex’s StreamOne and Arrow’s ArrowSphere are evolving beyond self-service sales systems into full-featured management and intelligence platforms.”