Printerland Blog

Printing vendor Canon claims its new online partner portal will make IT VARs’ lives easier and more lucrative.

Launched in December, PartnerNet is now ready to become fully operational. It is divided into four areas, the first being My Zone, where partners can access information about their business and Canon’s product line-up.

The Marketing Zone contains tools to build bespoke campaigns, while the Sales Zone will allow resellers to ask for Canon’s support in tendering for contracts. The Service and Support area will cover warranty information, spare parts ordering and also features an ‘Ask an Expert’ tool.

Canon’s distribution channel director Pat Marlow said: “The portal will allow us the opportunity to work with new and existing customers in the IT reseller channel. I believe that companies who sign up to the site will experience strong commercial benefits of access to the sales and marketing materials online and I look forward to jointly creating and supporting demand amongst end users for purchasing Canon products.”

Canon distributors Beta and Ingram Micro both welcomed PartnerNet’s launch. Beta marketing manager Dave Green claimed it would prove “a valuable resource”.

“The new Canon PartnerNet portal is a fantastic tool that now provides resellers access to key information on the Canon range of products and services that may have previously been difficult to locate,” he added.

Lewis Daniels, senior campaign manager at Ingram Micro, claimed his firm was “excited” by the portal’s rollout.

“Canon has demonstrated a great understanding of reseller needs and has been eager to work with us to help shape its offering and support model,” he said.