D-Link Case Study By Zyme Channel Data Management Solutions
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D-Link Australia and New Zealand significantly improved their channel management by implementing Zyme's CDM platform, enabling accurate aggregation of partner sell-through and inventory data. This integration allowed for enhanced visibility into reseller behavior, better targeted incentive programs, and streamlined sales credit assignments. As a result, D-Link reported greater accuracy and efficiency in their operations, leading to increased trust in data and improved ROI on channel initiatives.
D-Link Case Study By Zyme Channel Data Management Solutions
- 1. “ Our return on investment from Zyme, including all of the visible and more subtle benefits, has been very good. We are very impressed with the value we get from the platform, and the wider services that Zyme offers. Now we can understand, analyze, and map our customers to sales results more easily, efficiently, and accurately. Zyme is an excellent solution that delivers huge competitive advantages to us in managing our channels.” — Graeme Reardon, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) D-Link “The Most Insane Wireless Router in the History of Mankind” That’s how a popular technology publication describes a new ultra- series router from D-Link, the global leader in connectivity for home, small business, mid-to large-sized enterprise environments, and service providers. Known for its award-winning design and manufacturing, D-Link implements and supports unified network solutions that integrate capabilities in switching, wireless, broadband, storage, IP surveillance, and cloud-based network management. The company is also dominant in sales throughout the worldwide channel, and famous for its generous programs that help resellers, security integrators, and value-add solution providers to build and grow sustainable, profitable, businesses — based on selling D-Link solutions and differentiated services. D-Link Australia Wins Big with a More Accurate, Centralized View of Channel Sales, Using Zyme Channel Visibility Challenges • Slow, error-prone process to aggregate partner sell- through and inventory data • Difficulty accurately identifying sold-to party due to lack of master ID records • Ineffective incentive programs because of insufficient channel data • Difficulty reliably assigning sales credits, not just to salespeople but to supporting teams, such as product marketing The New Smart Channel D-Link Case Study | Page 1
- 2. Flexibility for a Diverse World of Partners “We have several different kinds of distribution partners, each with their own types of POS, sell-through, and stock-on-hand reports,” explained Graeme Reardon, Managing Director of D-Link for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). “We also work with many different retailers, who have multiple formats that they utilize to report their numbers.” When Reardon started at D-Link, his team was collecting all of these different reports and trying to manually collate them in Excel, which was “completely inaccurate,” in his words, and highly labor intensive. “Back then, we had no master database like the Zyme Global Channel Directory. We work with approximately 2,000 active resellers in Australia and New Zealand, so without that master directory and a solution to map resellers from transactions to the directory, it was impossible to accurately identify which resellers were being referenced. As an example, small things like having ‘Corp’ versus ‘Corporation’ on the end of a company name makes it seem that partners are reporting two different resellers when, in fact, it’s the same one. Trying to aggregate all of those together was a very arduous process,” he said. Discovering That Zyme Was the Right Solution Reardon searched for a proven, world-class channel data management solution and quickly decided on Zyme’s CDM platform. “I zeroed in on Zyme, because it was a critical part of our channel management program at my previous workplace, also in the networking space. From my experience there, I knew that Zyme’s implementation process was very streamlined, well managed, and capable of rapidly producing the outcomes we were looking for.” D-Link Case Study | Page 2 Management Goals • Streamline process of aggregating channel partner sell-through and inventory data • Accurately identify the reseller in each sales transaction to provide better insights into reseller behavior and improve channel management • Implement more targeted, effective rebates and incentives programs to drive sales • Increase accuracy of incentives and sales credit assignments, improving program ROI “ The channel sales process and sales performance monitoring are a lot easier with Zyme.” “ Zyme gives us a lot more insight into our business results on a day-to-day and week- to-week basis.”
- 3. Within a few months, D-Link ANZ had Zyme’s TrueData and TrueID solutions up and running. “With those solutions and the Zyme Global Channel Directory in place, we’re now able to quickly and precisely aggregate data, ensure that all resellers are identified accurately, and significantly increase our visibility into what is happening in all of our local markets,” Reardon reported. Superior Incentive Programs One of the biggest benefits D-Link has experienced since implementing Zyme is an increase in the accuracy and effectiveness of its channel development initiatives and reseller incentive programs. “We recently wrapped up an aggressive promotion where our SMB partners received reward points that tie into other programs. Points are allocated, based on a number of different product categories and sub-categories, down to the SKU level. They vary by the partner’s sales volumes and training certifications,” he revealed. For rebate programs, D-Link has target results in place every quarter, and performance percentages for all key customers. All of this data is verified and closely managed, using Zyme. “We are paying out cash dollars and reward points, based on Zyme’s validations,” Reardon noted. “I feel much more comfortable with what we are doing, now that we’re paying our resellers based on more accurate, validated figures, made possible by the Zyme CDM solution.” Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due D-Link has also improved the precision of its sales credit assignments in Australia and New Zealand, using Zyme. “Based on the account, the state, and the region, Zyme assigns credit to a salesperson for each transaction. Before we had Zyme, we relied on our people self- reporting their sales at the end of each month, without any real vetting process or formal validation,” Reardon said. Zyme’s ZAP Dashboard is now used for all of the company’s commission tracking and payouts. “We’ve assigned teams and individuals to specific customers across our different territories. With these business rules in place, we can track commissions at a very granular level, including product marketing and the team level, down to specific customers and even at a rebate level. We also enter our costs into the ZAP Dashboard, so that we can see our margin by customers, and even at a product level. Before Zyme, we simply did not have these capabilities.” D-Link Case Study | Page 3 “ Zyme’s solutions are critical to the way we do business.” AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router
- 4. Zyme has improved the accuracy of sales commissions and Reardon’s confidence in the numbers. “In the past, a sales person could manually modify a sales credit assignment without any real vetting process. Now, we’ve got a process for that, and we work with Zyme’s data steward team to make those modifications. It’s really made us a lot more procedural around making sure the data is accurate, vetted, and credited to the right person and team.” The D-Link ANZ and Asia Pacific Teams have big plans for their channels, and Zyme is a critical part of their strategy. “We’re using Zyme’s dashboards and solutions in a multitude of ways to improve our insights into resellers and create better incentives, and we’re constantly improving and extending the ways we use these solutions. Based on the success we’ve had in Australia and New Zealand, we’re expanding our efforts to onboard partners and resellers in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. We’re looking forward to enjoying the same level of precision and visibility with those customers that we have here in ANZ.” Additional Benefits to D-Link ANZ’s Channel Management Team • The Zyme solution was implemented very quickly, in a well-organized and streamlined way, to rapidly produce the outcomes D-Link management needed. • All D-Link stakeholders now have access to weekly rather than monthly intelligence — to help them effectively manage the channel — including accurate POS reports, sell-through reports, and stock-on-hand reports. • The company is now able to accurately identify resellers in transactions, and aggregate sales data by reseller. • Senior management is confidently making real-time decisions, secure in the knowledge that channel sales and inventory data from partners is accurate and complete, thanks to Zyme TrueData validations. • Managers can view and analyze channel results to facilitate better relationships, and resolve issues with thousands of resellers located in a wide geographic region, using ZAP Dashboards. • D-Link has improved the effectiveness of its promotions and partner rewards and increased its ROI, because of improved access to more granular data from individual resellers received through Zyme. Global Headquarters EMEA Headquarters www.zyme.com +1-650-587-2343 (US) +44 118 900 6724 (UK) +1 877-262-8993 (toll free) Copyright © 2015 Zyme. All rights reserved. CS-06272015 The New Smart Channel “ Our new, smart channel enabled by Zyme certainly helps our sales and product teams stay better informed.” Key Benefits Realized • Better, more targeted incentive programs due to better insights into reseller sales • Improved sales credit assignment for broader team, not just sales • Faster, more accurate data aggregation • Improved identification of resellers • Weekly, rather than monthly or quarterly, insights