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Mitsumi Distribution service the growing need for IT solutions across Africa
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AFRIcA’S FASTeST
GROWING IT DISTRIBUToR Mitsumi’s regional geographical coverage and extensive customer base has made the group the largest and fastest growing distributor in Africa Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Donovan Smith
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itsumi IT Distribution was formed in Nairobi, Kenya in the year 1996 with the aim of introducing appropriate and affordable technologies to Africa and now 18 years on, the company are proud to be a Pan-Africa Distributor. As authorised distributors for leading global IT hardware and software brands, Mitsumi have a growing brand portfolio including the following well known brands: Acer, APC, Asus, BenQ, Dell, Dell SonicWall, D-Link, EPSON, HP, Huawei, IBM, iSurf, Lenovo, LINKSYS, Microsoft, Polycom, Rivedbed, Samsung, Sandisk, Toshiba, Tripp-Lite and WD. As one of the Africa’s largest IT distributors, Mitsumi is the conduit through which the power of technology flows to 19 Countries in Africa. In the fiscal year 2011, the company sold IT products to more than 6,000 technology resellers in over 12 Countries. Every day these resellers depend on Mitsumi to help them costeffectively support the technology needs of end users of all sizes, including small and medium-sized businesses (SME’s), large enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies and consumers. Mitsumi is a leading technology distributor with a wide network of resellers acting as a one-stop-shop in IT for dealers and resellers in Africa. Mitsumi distributes a wide range of products covering computers, data centre, storage, security, networking, software and hardware.
Expansive Operations
Mitsumi Distribution operates in over 19 countries in Africa. The market covered by Mitsumi includes East, West, North and Southern Africa; with sales and stock points in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, South Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Algeria, Tunisia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and Madagascar and Jebel Ali (U.A.E). More than 150 employees and subsidiaries across the aforementioned 12 locations ensure speedy, effective and professional service to resellers throughout Africa. Mitsumi plays a vital role in the value chain, linking manufacturers of technology to thousands of resellers covering wide geographical territories. As a result, in-country facilities and regional stocking points across the African markets have catalysed the growth of Mitsumi. Currently, the company have 15 warehouses and 8 service centres in Africa and a strategic IT warehouse located in Jebel Ali, Dubai. These capabilities help Mitsumi reduce turnaround time in distributing products to the African markets. Mitsumi’s credit facilities to partners also consolidated its leadership advantage in Africa. Mitsumi has a first-mover advantage in Africa since the company was the first to establish a chain of in-country presence in Africa ranging from facilities such as warehousing, stocking points and support service centres in 1996.
Volume Distribution and Value Division In 2009, Mitsumi forayed into the distribution business in and since then their portfolio has grown to include world class distribution partners. Mitsumi offers resellers access to an extensive array of systems, networking, peripherals and software products from industry leading producers of hardware and software products. Mitsumi Distribution has set up a dedicated Value Division, which was unveiled recently and has already signed distribution partnerships with Dell, Dell SonicWALL, D-Link, Fluke Networks, IBM, Linksys, Polycom, Riverbed and Tripplite for the Africa region. This division is designed to
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take into account changing global and regional market circumstances, increasing company focus on the lower end of the IT market, to ensure that both the needs of vendors and resellers are being met efficiently. The launch of the Value Business Unit also paves the way for Mitsumi to recruit partners who will work with the enterprise team, to sell and support its vendor solutions. These infrastructure solutions include security, data centre, storage, virtualisation, private and public clouds, united communications, CRM and networking.
2013 – A Big Year for Mitsumi
Early 2013 saw global flash memory maker SanDisk and Samsung Electronics Africa sign deals with Mitsumi Distribution. SanDisk’s deal allows Mitsumi to distribute their products to 22 African countries. “The partnership strengthens our position in the African storage market,” said Sreedhar Sreekumar, SanDisk regional sales manager for Middle East and
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We intricately understand how to cost-effectively support the technology needs of end users of all sizes and certainly see this partnership with Samsung as an opportunity to continue our growth across the continent.”
Africa. “Africa is a growing emerging market and represents great potential for SanDisk. We are excited to partner with Mitsumi and to see SanDisk grow throughout the continent. Our partnership with Mitsumi reinforces our objective to expand our product reach in Africa,” Sreekumar added. Mitesh Shah, managing director at Mitsumi Distribution, further emphasised: “Mitsumi is delighted to be associated with a pioneering technology company like SanDisk that has impacted people’s digital lives.” As a result of Samsung Africa’s ongoing market development strategy to enhance its product availability, they took out a deal with Mitsumi, allowing them to distribute Samsung IT products in 19 countries across SubSaharan Africa. Samsung Electronics Africa IT Solutions Director, Thierry Boulanger, explained that the entry of Mitsumi Distribution will afford Samsung Electronics effective access to more than 19 African countries: “This partnership agreement is the first of its kind for us and certainly speaks to our continued investment in, and commitment to our African customers. This agreement not only enables us to expend our logistical footprint, but leverage on an established African distributor and support network.” Through this partnership agreement, Mitsumi will deliver the full range of Samsung IT consumer and business solutions to the market. Mitesh Shah was proud of this distribution achievement: “As one of the leading African distributors we understand the broader African continent and hold a viable expertise, having been in operation for 18 years across more than 19 African countries. We intricately understand how to cost-effectively support the technology needs of end users of all sizes and certainly see this partnership with Samsung as an opportunity to continue our growth across the continent.”
Tripp Lite Africa
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ripp Lite, a world-leading manufacturer of power protection and connectivity solutions, demonstrates its commitment to its customers by creating a diverse and continually evolving offering of over 2,500 products that can adapt to the IT needs of the smallest home offices, the data centres of the largest enterprises, and everything in between. Tripp Lite’s UPS systems, racks, PDUs, KVMs, cables, and more are all vendor-neutral, which means that customers can seamlessly integrate any Tripp Lite product into their existing power infrastructure or data centre, regardless of the equipment’s brand. This is just one aspect of the manufacturer’s commitment to ensure that each of its customers has the ability to create a reliable and secure IT infrastructure. Tripp Lite’s partnership with Mitsumi, a company who is also committed to meeting its customers’ needs, allows its products to be combined with offerings from leading technology brands such as Toshiba, Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, and others, making it possible to create the perfect IT solution for every client. “We look forward to a long and fruitful future with Mitsumi as we aim to target the customer’s primary needs while keeping cost-effectiveness and efficiency at the forefront,” said Darwin Haines, Tripp Lite’s Vice President
of EMEA & Asia Sales. “Africa is a particularly diverse market with many exciting opportunities, and we look forward to finding new ways to utilize our diverse product offering here. With the help of Mitsumi and its great network of partners, we hope to become a staple in every IT manager’s data centre in the region,” the executive concluded. As a result of its commitment to personalized customer service and ready-to-ship inventory for every continent, Tripp Lite’s impact has been felt around the world. The manufacturer’s products can be applied to a variety of industries, such as banking and finance, healthcare, mining, oil and gas, and government. Headquartered in Chicago in the United States, with branch offices and a vast network of partners around the world, Tripp Lite’s specialists can always be found anywhere and anytime to provide quick and efficient customer support. This, combined with extensive inventory and vendor neutral design, make Tripp Lite solutions the perfect answer to the needs of Small and Medium Business owners and data centre administrators alike.
Tel +254 731 137 202 Email salesint@tripplite.com www.tripplite.com
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POLYCOM
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olycom considers Africa to be a key growth market for voice and video conferencing. We
are delighted to partner with Mitsumi Value Distribution, one of the largest players in the African IT market. Signing a distribution agreement with Mitsumi emphasizes the intention and determination of Polycom to make our innovations in unified communications available to a wider audience. The partnership between Mitsumi and Polycom will provide Sub Saharan partners with access to Polycom solutions. From large telepresence room systems to mobile clients, these solutions are all relevant in Africa today.
Distributor of Choice
Mitsumi’s regional geographical coverage and extensive customer base has made the group the largest and fastest growing distributor in Africa. The company will remain invested and create new business avenues to enhance life styles in Africa. “We have established a reputation as one of the most dependable and customer centric distributors in Africa. We have a Pan Africa distribution strategy/ vision, strong in-country presence and targeted marketing campaigns which will take IT distribution to the next level. We envision Mitsumi as a world class company with great people contributing to the advancement of Africa.” To reward their success, Mitsumi were awarded Distributor of the Year in the 2013 CIO Annual Symposium and Awards Competition, held in Kigali, Rwanda. Mitesh Shah commented that business technology leadership plays an integral role in enhancing the growth of organisations: “We feel
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proud and more encouraged to be recognised for this prestigious award which will go a long way to explain our passion for excellence in distribution.” He said the firm’s long history in Africa has convinced them to diversify the business model and add value to partners. Mitsumi are making waves in the IT sector in order to secure their vision to become the “Distributor of Choice” in Information Technology and Consumer Electronics in Africa. “At Mitsumi we strive to nourish and grow our vendor partner and reseller partner relationships in Africa and exceed their expectations each day, every day.” With a Pan-Africa distribution vision and strategy that will take IT distribution to the next level and with a strong track record, solid financial standing and pool of African best practices, strategic business partnerships are crucial for Mitsumi Distribution’s success. The company are sure to go far in servicing the growing need for IT solutions across Africa.
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Polycom helps organizations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 400,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service, expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn more. Tel +44 (0) 1753 723000
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MITSUMI DISTRIBUTION 1st Floor Muthithi Place 67 Muthithi Road Westland’s Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 3744921 Fax: +254 733 612230 Email: sales@mitsumidistribution.com
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