Framingham MA-based Global Technology Systems (GTS) has signed its first broadline distribution deal in North America, with Ingram Micro Canada. GTS’s full suite of high-performance mobile power products, which support mobile computers, handheld scanners, portable printers, two-way radios and other mobile devices, will now be available to Ingram Micro partners throughout Canada.
GTS – which for a long time was known as Honeywell Batteries – started in the late 1990s to answer a need for alternative battery power for critical devices.
“No one but the device manufacturers had provided this before, and unlike consumer products that use batteries, which last a year or two, commercial gear can have a very long lifecycle, up to 15 years, so a reliable supply of batteries is needed,” said Scott Benezra, GTS’ Vice President, Logistics. “We cover all segments from the enterprise through small and medium, and are particularly strong in retail, transportation and parcel post.”
GTS has a hybrid go-to-market model, selling direct in the U.S. into some enterprise accounts, while channel partners cover the SMB and some enterprise as well. Canada, however, is mainly a channel market, Benezra said.
GTS distribution in both Canada and the U.S. has been the same up to now, with specialty distributors ScanSource and BlueStar handling it all, and no broadliners being used. ScanSource and BlueStar will continue to distribute GTS in Canada; the Ingram Micro deal is incremental to these relationships.
“We have been strong in Canada with ScanSource and BlueStar, but Ingram Micro opens up a whole new world for us,” Benezra said. “Ingram is a broadliner, but they are also a bit of a hybrid because they have a Point of Sale division similar to ScanSource and Bluestar, and they have so much more on top of that. We think they have a much broader base of resellers that our products are applicable to, and will help us expand our network of strong partners.”
Interestingly, the Canadian relationship with Ingram Micro, which precedes any relationship in the U.S., came about because of a partner request.
“One of our more established resellers in Canada requested that we work with them, and when we checked them out, they seemed like a logical fit,” Benezra said. “Our plan is to extend the relationship to the U.S.
GTS already has an established presence in the Canadian market.
“The first responder market has been very strong for us, going back to the preparations for the Vancouver Olympics,” Banezra said. “On the communications side, we are stronger in western Canada, and on the global computing side, we are stronger in the east.”
