Sales and marketing, Channel partner programs, IT distribution, Content

Ingram Micro Expands Financing for U.S., Canadian Partners

Ingram Micro is launching additional financing programs to help North American channel partners amid the coronavirus pandemic -- which may cause a cash crunch across the IT channel.

The latest Ingram Micro efforts include: 

  • New Ingram Micro Kickstart Financing and Future Funds Programs;
  • $100 million in additional credit to U.S. partners; and $10 million to Canadian partners. That overall effort spans approximately 2,000 channel partners across North America;
  • waiving financial services fees; and
  • exclusive payment terms to members of Ingram Micro Trust X Alliance and SMB Alliance Communities.

The new programs surface less than a week after Ingram assured partners that the distributor had taken proper steps to stand tall during the pandemic.

Ingram Micro Financing: New Program Details

Here are additional details for the financing efforts:

  • KickStart Financing and Future Funds:  The programs, available immediately to U.S. and Canadian partners, "allow channel partners additional cash flow options to finance the technology, services and support needed in real-time, allowing for more complete solutions to be sold together," the distributor says.
  • Future Funds: Features interest only payments for six months and starting payments as low as 1.5% of the total purchase price. At month seven the customer is presented a choice to pay off the balance or finance for an additional 12 to 60 months.
  • More Options: Additional Ingram Micro financing solutions for U.S. and Canadian channel partners include Direct Express, Technology as a Service, End-user Financing, Manufacturer Financing, Lockbox Solutions.

More information about Ingram Micro financial solutions is available here.

Coronavirus Pandemic: IT Services Business Impact

The Ingram Micro financing efforts arrive at a critical time. The IT services market forecast is now "bleak" for 2020, according to a GlobalData research report. The 2020 report was revised in mid-March 2020 to reflect the pandemic's impact on business.

Amid the pandemic, MSPs should make these seven business changes immediately, ChannelE2E recommends.

Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering emergency loans to assist small businesses through the coronavirus crisis. But Bloomberg Radio estimates it can take roughly 30 days for small businesses to receive such loans — at a time when the typical small business has only about 14 days of cash on hand, the report said.

Amid the pandemic, MSPs should make these seven business changes immediately, ChannelE2E recommends.

Ingram Micro Financing: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the financing efforts, Ingram Micro Chief Financial Executives Kelly Carter (Canada) and Anthony Mackle (U.S.) said:

“Our channel partners and their customers need the funding and flexibility to make the right business technology decisions for their organizations, now and in the future. Our teams worked smart and fast to customize programs that will work best for the type of solutions our partners are delivering, and for the business climate expected in the weeks and months ahead.”

Added Ingram Micro Senior Vice President and Chief Country Executives Kirk Robinson (U.S.) and Bill Brandel (Canada):

“During times of uncertainty and crisis, you have work closer and rely even more on your partners and your overall ecosystem. We’re in this together and need to continue to ask ourselves and those we serve and collaborate with: “What more can we do to help?”

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.