Western Digital Strengthens Channel Partner Initiatives in India

Western Digital has introduced several  new rewards programmes for its channel partners across all the industry segments that it operates in the country.  The rewards initiatives and programs are uniquely designed for each set of channel partners to help them grow, maximise profitability, and, most importantly, delight their customers. The newly launched rewards programs include  -

SanDisk League of Heroes (SLH) -  SLH is created for recognising and rewarding the best performing channel partners in the consumer segment. It will run for the whole year (2020). Each quarter represents a mission consisting of a number of stars that can earn the partners attractive rewards. The SLH program consists of rewards, booster rewards, and medallions that can earn exciting prizes.

Western Digital Elite Partner Promo - This program is for enterprise SIs and VARs who provide complete storage solutions to the customers. It is an annualised rewards program with quarterly rewards based on performance for the channel partners who sell Western Digital Ultrastar HDDs, SSDs and storage platforms and server portfolio that includes our JBOD, JBOFs, Ultrastar Serv24-A, and Ultrastar Serv60+8.

myWD Partner Programme - myWD Partner Program is a highly successful rewards program that engages with partners within the IT and surveillance channel. Under this campaign, ~6000 partners participate under a timebound, two-way communication based rewards platform and get trained on select, WD-branded products.

Jaganathan Chelliah, Director Marketing, Western Digital India, said -  “We run one of the strongest and most successful partner programs in the channel today. The key to this is our clarity and a sharp focus on a two-way partnership, and on our mutual success. We continue to reinvent the way that we work with our partners, and it is exciting to see that our efforts are paying off, across our channel partner spectrum.

In response to a question by this author, Jagannath Chelliah clarified that they don't have a  direct programme to connect to the end customer and they reach their end customers only through Channel Partners. 

Western Digital does have an evolved strategy of selling on E-commerce platforms for direct selling to the end customer.

“I can confidently say that our channel training and education programs are unparalleled. We are among a handful of organisations that impart training and education through comprehensive tech-based platforms, such as our TechTalk, which is an app-based training module for mobile retailers to ensure that they are updated with the latest products and technology to cater to their customers. We are committed to our partners’ growth and success in today’s volatile and dynamic environment.”

myWD Connect Programme rides on the WhatsApp for business platform and engages with 5000+ partners weekly, cascading benefits of WD branded devices. TechTalk app is focused on 1300+ SanDisk brand partners, keeping them updated on new offerings under SanDisk branded products.

In addition, Western Digital has released effective sales tools for channel partners to engage with their customers in the form of video based sales aides and the WD Purple Capacity Estimator app. Western Digital India’s channel initiatives are aligned to create a strong brand-distributor relationship by ensuring real-time communication, impactful training sessions, and various rewards initiatives to recognise and appreciate the performance.

Dynamics of a Changed Environment

While Western Digital has made efforts  to expand its networks to include Channel  Partners, it has also kept its strategy for selling online on E-Commerce platforms to directly sell to the end customers. Further, now  with the supply chains of IT products completely disrupted and no new products coming from China or elsewhere, Western Digital, like other IT vendors, needs to reconfigure its strategy to sell to its end customers.

This reconfiguration may involve manufacturing in India and transfer of technology to India, rather than simply using India as a market to sell its products. Channel partners have to be taken into confidence to evolve these strategies. The market is unstable and there are many uncertainties right now. There is a need to work out strategies to overcome these challenges.