Recently while browsing some CAM related forums, I ran across the question Are Dealers Still Needed? This was a very good question and definitely worth pondering. Most of the comments were mostly of the opinion that dealers were not needed anymore.
Certainly one could make a case that the average shop owner and CADCAM user is more computer savvy than 10-20 years ago. There are more available post processors than there used to be, though customization of post processors is still needed. (see our previous blog entry on post processors starting here)
What I want to do is go back in time a little bit. When I was first introduced to dealers, they weren’t called dealers. A dealer is simply a middle man who buys product from a supplier and sells it to the end user. Best Buy is a dealer of electronic goods. What dealers were actually referred to in the day was VAR or Value Added Reseller.
You see, a VAR is different from a dealer. They were closer to the end customer and could add value to that customer. CAM software may have been only one portion of the sale, the VAR might also include products like CMM software, computer hardware or cutting tools to services like Networking computers to training.
A VAR in one particular area might be better versed in the local market than the software developer. For example, a VAR in Detroit might be well versed in the automotive market, and know what tools, software and services are necessary for that market. Whereas, a VAR in Texas may know more about oil drilling, and offer value to that industry.
One common thread to VAR’s was training. Almost all VAR’s offered local training for end users. Unfortunately, in the United States at least, too many companies and people discount the value of proper training. Myself, the first CAD package I used in 1987, I had to learn on my own and was not sent to training. This is true of the second and third CAD packages I used also.
At some point in time, many VAR’s decided to reduce technical services and focus more on simply selling product. They could subsist on a smaller, less technical staff, and undercut the VAR’s in price and sell in volume.
So back to the original question, are dealers needed today? If all you are doing is ordering product, probably not so much. Also, there are some companies that get so advanced with the use and application of their software (at least with CAM) that they prefer to work directly with the manufacturer over a dealer, and I can understand that. However, there are a lot more companies that think they are at that advanced of a level, but simply are not.
They are the companies that don’t get proper training, that don’t have people come in to investigate how to improve a process. Simply put, they don’t know what they don’t know and often are not proactive to fix that. They often don’t use new features in CAM software, even though those very features may make them more productive. I was at a customer location once that was drilling 230+ of the same hole in a part and was doing each one manually. I asked why he didn’t use the automatic feature recognition available, and he said he didn’t know about it or know how to do it. I programmed in 2 minutes what would have taken him a couple hours, yet his employer didn’t think training on that feature was important!
Videos for training are great, but can only take you so far. Training classes are great but can only take you so far. Sometimes a regular visit is useful to help keep you “tuned up” on the latest technology. That was one advantage of a VAR over a dealer.
So in conclusion, dealers can be useful and definitely needed, if they provide local expertise to their markets. Part of the problem in the past are the people looking to save a buck on product and training, instead of valuing expertise.
What are your opinions? Do you value local expertise? Do you prefer to not have a middle man? Leave a comment.
Note: Here at Sescoi, we sell both directly and through a VAR channel. We are always looking for qualified VAR’s to carry our products and provide local expertise.
