ScanSource Aims To Help Partners Deploy Salesforce Integrations

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ScanSource CEO Mike Baur said that 2019 will be the year of the “customer experience” in which his value-added distributor launches an initiative aimed at driving channel sales among end users with call centers.

Following its acquisition last September of Canpango, a Salesforce integrator, the Greenville, S.C.-based company wants to help solution providers leverage recurring revenue through their existing customer base.

“So this is an opportunity for sales partners who are not in the business today who are trying to figure out how can I get in this recurring revenue, higher margin, more profitable opportunity,” he told CRN in an interview. “The line of business decision maker wants to talk about things that drive revenue for them and CX or customer experience is the new battleground for that.”

Baur said beginning in May, ScanSource will host Intelisys CX Summits in Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco to help channel partners navigate this new opportunity, Baur said. He said their partners can then go to existing clients, some of which have small call centers with as few as five employees, and talk to them about integrating their call center operations with Salesforce. He said ScanSource will provide them with the tools to make that happen.

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“So this thing has huge traction,” he said. “We’re selling through our channel a new cloud contact center and in that cloud contact center, most of those customers now are buying headsets. We referenced on the call last night a tremendous growth in Plantronics and Polycom handsets and headsets … That’s because these contact centers are putting in new technology so that they can provide the right solution.”

During ScanSource’s earnings call Tuesday, the company announced year-over-year revenue gains of 1 percent in the second quarter ending Dec. 31, with total quarterly sales of $1.04 billion. Net income for the quarter came in at $20 million for an earnings per share of $0.78 on a GAAP basis.

Baur told investors there was continued growth in mobile computing solutions in North America and Brazil, as well as growth in video surveillance, driven by more applications for video, increased integrations, and better image resolution and analytics. He said portable point-of-sale devices had double-digit, year-over-year growth, thanks to new business from an unidentified large customer. The company’s communications channel also saw more business with Mitel customers switching to ScanSource.

He told investors that while Intelisys sales increased 14 percent year over year, that represented a lower than anticipated growth rate, however January figures show record billings and he expects a return to normal growth in the third quarter.

Baur told CRN that the new CX experience will not eclipse the work the company already does.

“We’re still betting the company on selling tons of Zebra mobile devices, and Honeywell devices and Cisco, all that infrastructure still has a place in the market,” he said. “We’re just saying if you’re struggling as a channel partner to find, that next opportunity for growth, we’re going to direct our channel to very specific solutions. We’re about solutions now, not about just distributing products.”