With the news the other week that 2e2 the disti, sorry box shifter, no I mean ‘ICT Lifecycle Services Provider’ has hit administration it has left a number of businesses evaluating exactly how they are affected and whether they can survive without them.
Unfortunately it is not clear anymore what 2e2 actually stand for and from a customer perspective the impact of them going under or being saved is a difficult call. Probably only the managed services part of the business will be saved as clients can already be served by competitors for the other services they offer which means more people will lose their jobs and creditors will be unlikely to reduce their losses.
With the dust settling and the conversations I have had within and around the industry it now seems somewhat obvious that they were going to fail. However like many businesses of a certain size and image they seemed to be very good with their ‘jazz hands’ to a point where their customers and suppliers didn’t ask too many questions. We have come up against 2e2 on a number of occasions and have always backed out because the terms became uncompetitive once 2e2 started selling products or services below our cost (and obviously their own!). The customers obviously didn’t have too much issue with this, because they were getting a deal, but as it turns out the headache of now dealing with a trusted partner no longer being available is a significant one.
As a smaller business we are used to having to jump through hoops and go the extra mile to demonstrate to prospects about our potential, capability and long term sustainability. But businesses such as 2e2 which have grown through acquisition and are of a certain size are given the benefit of the doubt because of their superior size.
So while I am of course upset for all the employees who now find themselves without jobs or pay it does at least hopefully mean larger prospects will start to once again consider smaller suppliers who are less complicated, more open and above everything else care.
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