ChannelBuzz has learned that Lenovo, which has been assessing its distribution options for its commercial Motorola business, since it acquired the mobility vendor a year ago, has decided on SYNNEX for its U.S distribution. The deal does not apply to Canada, and Lenovo said it has no comment on Canadian distribution plans at this time.

“We are announcing a relationship with SYNNEX to allow the commercial channel to buy unlocked phones through SYNNEX,” said Chris Frey, VP of Lenovo’s North American Commercial Business.

Since the Motorola acquisition, Lenovo has been quiet about its commercial go-to-market strategy, indicating several times only that they were still considering the best way to do that. The main route for Motorola to market in North America since the acquisition has been through the telcos, so hammering out a commercial distribution strategy for Motorola hasn’t been the top priority.

“From Lenovo’s view, today the preferred route to market for Motorola is the telcos,” Frey told ChannelBuzz just after the acquisition. “But we also want to go to market with alternative routes as well, to get more devices to more people.”

Motorola’s consumer business in North America has shown significant growth recently, giving the products considerable momentum as they move into the commercial channel.

“In North America, the Motorola business is turning around quickly and starting to grow, and we showed really good performance in phones last quarter,” Frey said. “Traditionally, most Lenovo phones sales have been in China. But last quarter, 70 per cent of phone sales were from outside of China, compared with only 20 per cent outside China a year ago. That took us from fifth to fourth in smartphones in North America. We also expect good things from the Christmas season, especially from models with our new unbreakable shatter-proof screens.”

The agreement falls under the SYNNEX MobilitySolv group.