ompaq Computer this week will provide the clearest indication yet that direct-market PC suppliers are succeeding in attracting corporate accounts. The company will brief selected resellers at PC Expo in New York about a program called Toss, designed to provide Compaq's reseller partners with prices that meet or beat those offered by direct marketers.
Compaq officials wouldn't comment on the unannounced program, but a spokesman says the cost improvements Compaq has made in manufacturing and distribution are beginning to pay off, let
ting the PC maker compete better on price with direct vendors. Compaq is expected to add up to 2,000 employees, primarily to provide more direct customer and reseller contact. Part of that plan includes closing the 10% to 20% price gap between Compaq's systems and direct marketer Dell Computer's systems.
"We're trying to pair the good aspects of the direct model, in terms of pricing, logistics, and accountability, with the value-added services of the indirect model," says Jim Schraith, VP of North American marketing at Compaq.
Gary Darby, network design engineer for Pennzoil Corp., a Houston oil company that has standardized on Compaq, says that while the company shops for the best prices, it's the vendor's reliability that ultimately counts. "We standardized on Compaq because they offer a good, stable product," he says.
Compaq's resellers say they hope the plan works. "I lose a lot of business to Dell," says Eric Feldman, manager of corporate accounts at ComputerLand Corp., a reseller in Plainvi
ew, N.Y.
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ompaq Computer this week will provide the clearest indication yet that direct-market PC suppliers are succeeding in attracting corporate accounts. The company will brief selected resellers at PC Expo in New York about a program called Toss, designed to provide Compaq's reseller partners with prices that meet or beat those offered by direct marketers.
