EDITOR’S QUESTION
A
s a global
business
software
company, give us an
overview of the market
opportunities and
partner programme
for regional channel
partners.
Helping partners build
better, more profitable
businesses
The overhaul to Epicor's partner programme focuses on quality,
not quantity says Hesham El Komy, Senior Director, International
Channels, Epicor Software.
I
Functional: for example, sales
resources, marketing, lead-gen,
business and marketing plan, quarterly
business review (QBR), etc.
Technical: for example, solution
engineers, technical consultants,
Epicor certifications, L1/L2 support
capability, etc.
n Issue 06 of Intelligent Tech
Channels, I talked about why we felt it
so important to overhaul our partner
programme. Essentially, we realised
that many of the smaller partners bring
significant value to the table thanks to their
specialisms, but were not getting rewarded
for this. The new Epicor channel partner
programme rewards and incentivises
partners for the value they bring to the
relationship, irrespective of their size and
brand. There are three key elements that
set our programme apart:
1. Joint assessment. During this
assessment, which takes place once
a year, we help the partner identify
market opportunities, core skills and its
unique selling proposition as an Epicor
business partner. It also allows us to
identify potential learning needs and
skills gaps that we can work together to
address. The outcome of this assessment
is a comprehensive joint business plan
to help the partner rapidly grow its
business within its chosen market.
2. Choice of partnership. Uniquely,
the Epicor partner programme gives
partners the choice of how they would
like to partner with us. We give them the
ability to service their customers’ needs
and grow their capabilities that will, in
turn, allow them to differentiate their
business in the ERP market.
3. Margins based on ‘value’. Under
50
Hesham El Komy, Senior Director,
International Channels, Epicor Software.
the new programme, partners are
rewarded for doing what they do
well but, just as importantly, they’re
incentivised for making improvements
in areas of their business where they
may be less proficient.
There are three key values:
Financial: for example, quotas,
forecasting and reporting, renewal
percentage, up-sell, etc.
Each pillar is designed to improve the
business flow with Epicor. At the same
time, they bring a level of consistency in
expectation, which all leads to one thing:
helping partners to grow their business.
While drastic, the changes we have
made to the programme have not only
been very well received from our existing
partner eco-system, but have also created
a lot of interest in the market from new
prospective partners. With a focus on
quality over quantity, this has enabled
us to be selective and ensure we onboard
the right partners that will bring the
expected value.
In fact, to date, in the Middle East
and Africa (MEA) region, we have signed
and onboarded 16 partners to the new
partner programme. These partners,
many of them smaller niche players, have
already started paying dividends; we have
seen a marked improvement in pipeline
generated from partners, the number of
certified partner consultants, marketing
collateral generated by partners and, most
importantly, revenue.
Issue 10
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS