Wasp Barcode adds new levels to partner program

Wasp Barcode Technologies has restructured its existing program for value added resellers, creating additional levels to its program and more resources for its top tier partners.

Wasp, based in Plano, Tex., sells inventory control, asset tracking and point of sale hardware and software solutions.

Its Wasp Link program previously only had two levels, without much differentiation. It now includes four tiers: Registered, Fast Start, Gold Premier and Platinum Premier.

“As far as the enhancements go for this year, I really wanted to make a difference between the levels, so that partners are motivated to grow the Wasp side of their business and advance to the next tier to unlock the benefits,” said Dylan Schafer, the company’s channel sales manager.

Registered, or entry level partners, fill out an online application and gain access to basic marketing material and content through the company’s partner portal. The Fast Start program has been shortened from a 90 day trial run to 60 days, since Wasp has added new resources, such as one joint marketing campaign, for those partners.

Those partners, as well as Gold and Platinum partners, receive a 10 per cent front-end rebate. Gold and Platinum partners also receive a guaranteed number of monthly leads through the company’s lead program. Platinum partners also receive a dedicated channel account manager.

Wasp offers free training to its partners, through 30 or 45 minute online sessions, and requires a certification test for its program.

Wasp held a pilot period for this newly structured program from May to September of last year. Among the 15 participating partners, Wasp saw 30 per cent year over year growth from 2010 to 2011, Schafer said.

Wasp currently does 75 per cent of its business through channel partners and has a network of 3500 VARs worldwide. The company aims to offer 20 to 25 per cent margins on the retail price of all its products for VARs, but at least 15 per cent margin for other reseller partners.

“We absolutely want to gain additional partners but we also want to keep that number down … just from a focus standpoint,” Schafer said.

The company is focused on the small and medium sized business (SMB) market, which is defines as organizations with five to 99 employees, but also works on a departmental level with large enterprises. Microsoft Corp., for example, used Wasp’s technology in one of its research and development centres, and Wasp has also sold to various departments of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“The biggest piece of that pie would be government,” Schafer said, including the education market. “We see our biggest competitor as non-consumption,” or customers who simply don’t know about Wasp’s products.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Harmeet Singh
Harmeet Singh
Harmeet reports on channel partner programs, new technologies and products and other issues relevant to Canada's channel community. She also contributes as a video journalist, providing content for the site's original streaming video. Harmeet is a graduate of the Carleton University School of Journalism.

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