Synnex Canada Ltd. is looking to grow its components business by five per cent in 2005 with last month’s opening of a new warehouse location, said company CEO Jim Estill.
Estill, who topped this year’s Top 25 Newsmakers list (see page 25), said Synnex is the largest components distributor in
terms of revenue. He added PC distributor Supercom is probably bigger in breadth.
At time of opening, part of the 70,000 sq. ft. Markham facility, formerly owned by Daisytek before it was acquired by EMJ Data Systems Ltd. in 2003, had 50 SKUs in stock from OEM component vendors. These include Intel Corp., Seagate and Logitec.
Strategic move
“”That’s a lot of processors,”” said Estill, who attended the launch, which attracted around 50 system builders from the GTA.
Synnex Canada, which also has warehouses at its headquarters in Etobicoke, Guelph, Ont. (as a result of this year’s merger with EMJ) and Calgary, called this is a strategic move.
“”That Markham area is the heart of where those system builders are,”” said Estill. “”EMJ had a warehouse in Markham but Synnex didn’t have it.””
Estill added the merger is mutually beneficial for both EMJ, now a division of Synnex Canada, and Synnex.
“”We look at the synergies and the things we can benefit from. Synnex has a warehouse in Calgary and EMJ never did. It’s very easy to put (EMJ) product in there, not only for customer pick up but for faster delivery.””
Same-day pickup
The new location is designed for Markham-area system builders to be able to pick up product the same day they order it, cutting down on shipping costs. It also helps resellers get product out to their customers faster.
John McLean, vice-president of sales and Synnex Canada, estimates there are a couple of hundred of system buliders in the area.
McLean said benefits for resellers are twofold: increased profitability and savings on cost of freight.
“”We’re giving that money back to you,”” said McLean, who spoke at the event, where Synnex held an official ribbon cutting ceremony and warehouse tour for attendees.
To promote the new venue, Synnex Canada offered resellers a $10 credit for every $1,000 purchase in the month of November (maximum one per day).
“”We hope to be on your pick up run in the near future,”” McLean added.
William Tong, president of Markham-based Jaba System Inc., said he was pushing Estill for this over the last several months.
“”It’s in a great area and is convenient for me.””
However, larger system builders such as Elco Systems (Canada), which sells around 2,500 desktops a month, order computer parts in higher volumes and subsequently have their shipping charges paid by the distributor.
“”It doesn’t make any difference to me,”” said Frankie Wong, president of the Toronto-based system builder.
