Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/07/30/ccm_dips_toe_in_ecommerce/

CCM dips toe in e-commerce waters

Warns channel that it's not a panacea

By Linda Harrison

Posted in On-Prem, 30th July 1999 11:25 GMT

CCM Distribution will launch an e-commerce site for resellers by the end of the year. This is the component distributor's first dip into the cyber selling pool, according to CCM MD Brent Cutler. This is because he thinks the Web's merits are over-rated by the distribution channel. "E-commerce is not the be all and end all. People in our business are putting too much emphasis on it," said Cutler. "But we appreciate the market is changing." Cutler believes that the most important thing is making and keeping relationships with the dealer channel. "You can't build that level of trust up over the Internet," he said. But, according to Cutler, resellers now need rock-bottom pricing as well as reliable service from a distributor. Cutler is dismissive of the distribution price war, saying: "Some businesses sell stock at cost price, making no margin. They can only do that for so long or they go under. The trouble is, they can ruin it for everyone else." He added that the channel was about to see a new CCM. "We are getting more aggressive with our marketing. And we know what we are doing -– CCM is one of the most profitable companies in our area in the UK." ®