What to Consider When Choosing Distribution Channels – a Case Study of a Software Company

Abstract: EasyArchive is a vendor of an email archiving software solution. EasyArchive’s sales are not growing with the same speed as the market, which is forecasted to grow with up to 1000% within the next 5 years. EasyArchive’s direct sales force can expand but the company is also evaluating alternative marketing channels. The number of potential types of channels and the number of players in each channel is very big. EasyArchive has no earlier experience from channel sales in the American market and needs to define evaluation criteria to choose the right channel strategy as well as the right partners. Purpose: The purpose of this Master Thesis is to identify and suggest potential distribution channels for EasyArchive in the American business to business market. Methodology: This Master Thesis is a describing and exploratory case study based on qualitative data. The theoretic framework is based on literature studies. The empiric description of the company is mainly based on unstructured interviews with key persons at EasyArchive. Direct observations of the day-to-day operations at EasyArchive have also been an important method to collect data. Conclusion: EasyArchive certainly should start to sell through external channel partners. The company can reach a larger market without bringing external capital in. The strategy also offers EasyArchive to focus on its core competence in the technical field. By focusing on a limited numbers of carefully chosen Value Added Resellers EasyArchive can take advantage of this but still keep a fairly good control of resellers and the market. Some of the most important criteria to consider are the partner’s presence in the market, the ability to manage a long sales cycle, and the experience of similar customers and products.