The Italian market is very fragmented with complex sales channels. Distributors need to be very skillful in blending different brands and turning them into useful solutions for systems integrators.
The Italian market is very fragmented with complex sales channels. Distributors need to be very skillful in blending different brands and turning them into useful solutions for systems integrators. From SICUREZZA 2015, we can see the rise of value-added distributors and how much they focus on solutions and services for their customers. For systems integrators and installers, we suggest they carefully select a reliable and knowledgeable technical partner with a dynamic background that completes sales supports for their business, not only seeing the brands they represent in the market.
Value-added distributors, targeting solution market in Italy
Andrea Hruby, CEO, HESA
We have two companies, HESA and DIAS under one group. HESA was born in 1974. This company sells security products to mostly installers and systems integrators. We are a very well-known company in Italy because of our business, our reputation, and history. My father found the company in the early 1970s. He is a pioneer in the Italian industry. He is the first person to introduce the electronic devices in Italy, by importing the first security devices from the U.S., HESA keeps this leading position in the market and focuses our sales only to installers and systems integrators. DIAS then focuses on the distribution business with sub-distributors.
With multiple brands, we are able to keep substantial growth. We are covering all the levels of the market by video surveillance and intrusion detection. Overall, because of our experience and history of our company, we are always considered the first company to approach by companies that want to enter this market.
Romeo Trolese, Commercial Director, Trolese
Our company has 50 percent of our revenue coming from video surveillance — other 50 percent is from intrusion detection, access control, fire products, and sound systems. We mainly sell to systems integrators for a wide range of projects, covering commercial and industrial ones and we also have cost-effective products, with TRV brand, for sub-distributors. We have a strong technical background to provide the customized solutions for our systems integrators. We have many different selected brands, which are mostly the leading brands in Europe and other areas of the world, with special technologies, such as VMS, video analytics, etc. We test them and make them compatible with our customers’ needs.
Alessandro Bua, Marketing Manager, Compass Distribution
Compass Distribution is a national distributor in Italy with more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunication market. We work in three different divisions — networking, security, and telecom. Networking division has cabling system products, switches, certification instruments and tools, voice over IP, wireless solutions, and all the passive accessories; security division has video surveillance, fire, intrusion, audio, access control, and all the products related to security system market. The telecom division sells all the optical cables and accessories for outside plant, to the big installation companies (telecoms certified partners), that work for the major telecom carriers like Vodafone, Wind, Telecom Italia, etc. Distribution is our business. The security and telecommunications divisions have really grown a lot this year, followed by the networking division. The company has a strong background. We are direct (main) distributors of all the brands we have right now in our portfolio. They are mostly international, well-known brands, like Bosch, Arteco IVS, Samsung, Axis, Milestone and many others. We only made a B2B business selling our products to installers, big systems integrators, and sub-distributors.
All these three divisions work together, not in a vertical way but horizontal way. We can support our customers from projection to end-customers sales. We have a presales and post-sales department, who checks all the projects and gives to all the customers the support they need from the start of the tender to the end of the project. We are skillful and value-added distributors, providing to our partners a 360-degree support on their business.
Rodolfo Casieri, Commercial Director, EDSlan
EDSlan is a leading distributor in Italy of products for cabling and energy efficiency, networking, IP telephony, unified communications, and IT and security. Our eight subsidiaries operate throughout the country. Therefore, EDSlan’s offering meets all the requirements regarding the development of networks: cabling and networking solutions to build converged infrastructure, video surveillance and security solutions, IP PBX systems, VoIP and audio-conferencing solutions, up to the latest technology for unified communications and collaboration, cloud, and BYOD. EDSlan can stay competitive because we provide and assure “volume” to vendors, and services to the channel partners that many other distributors can’t assure. Channel partners are willing to pay an additional fee to EDSlan, compared to other box movers, because they understand EDSlan’s added value.
Our offering covers the needs of resellers operating in the IT and ICT market. We have eight subsidiaries in Italy, business developers, sales and post-sales specialists, trainers for specific technologies, and a dedicated marketing team. All these are strong differentiating factors and a major advantage over many other distributors. Vendors and products represented by EDSlan in Italy are selected in order to combine established technologies and new, cutting-edge technologies.
EDSlan is at the forefront for what concerns services. Thanks to a dedicated team, with technical referenced personnel, EDSlan is able to deliver a wide range of value-added services to meet every customer need. The services offered are presales support, help desk, RMA, on-site operations, training and personal training, maintenance contracts, and extended warranties.
Aldo Punzo, Product Marketing Manager, Bettini Video & Security Technology
Bettini Video & Security Technology is a professional video surveillance distributor and manufacturer. Besides distribution, we are able to manufacture technologies according to their special requirements and needs for our customers. We have our own CMS software, which can do the central management of DVRs.
Banks are our main customer. There are some discrepancy, which only national players can find in the bank customer’s requirement, and then we put this feature in our products. We have several bank customers, and each of them has different needs. For many international players, they can’t do it due to the limited volume, (standardization of their products), and understanding toward Italian customers. Instead, we are able to adjust our hardware, software, and firmware to meet their different needs.
A second strong point is we are able to support our installers to design the project. Besides providing the products to them, we are able to support our systems integrators and installers to design complex systems according to different projects. For instance, we have designed the monitoring control systems for many large banks and big chain stores and control monitoring stations for law enforcement. We are able to supply our knowledge and cameras and then design the systems for the installers.