Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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When one looks at the PC distribution network in South Africa it is pretty advanced and well laid out. In Gauteng for instance you can find distributors at every major business sentra selling at wholesale even on Saturdays. If something happens to be out of stock, it usually can be supplied within one working day or maximum seven. Small guys can buy one part at a time with no hassle. They don’t have to stock up.
There is a load of competion and the smaller vendors who buy from them can more often than not offer better deals than the bigger stores such as Incredible Connection. Savvy customers would know that.
Apple in South Africa is a different story. It is only the bigger vendors who can afford to buy bulk, which is what you have to do in order to make a profit on the Apple products. If you buy single or smaller batches from them you run into a problem that has been around for quite some time now. Supply.
Let us just take the iMac for instance. If you were to take the entry level iMac you would have to wait five weeks to get your hands on one! That is way too long to satisfy the business needs of smaller vendors. Their customers will laugh and go buy the same product for more money at a bigger vendor with stock if they really have get their hands on it. That vendor is making more money because they will be certified as a gold vendor that pays a little less per product than would a normal reseller.
This just closes the market in terms of ease of access. Smaller vendors who can make the sales cannot do so because there are delays in supply. The delays have been around so long that they cannot possibly be for real. They are most likely artificial. Why this would be the case is an enigma.
By the way, the waiting period on a single order of the second highest spec Apple iMac will set you back waiting up to 11 weeks. The lowest spec one will set you waiting for up to 5 weeks.
Other Apple products suffer the same fate. The entry level Apple Mac Mini will have you waiting up to 18 weeks. One would think,if this was demand driven they would sort out the waiting periods, but all that is happening is that bigger vendors order big (because of waiting periods, not demand) and smaller guys cannot supply at all. Smaller guys in the IT industry tend to give the bargains contrary to other industries.
Ordering any of the MACBOOK’s will send you waiting between 4 and 13 weeks.
I am sure this is unacceptable in any business. I am pretty sure the uptake of Apple computers would be much higher in South Africa at least if the supply issues can be solved, be they real or artificial. Something has to be done to get smaller businesses in on the Apple act. Why would it not make sense to Apple?
There is a load of competion and the smaller vendors who buy from them can more often than not offer better deals than the bigger stores such as Incredible Connection. Savvy customers would know that.
Apple in South Africa is a different story. It is only the bigger vendors who can afford to buy bulk, which is what you have to do in order to make a profit on the Apple products. If you buy single or smaller batches from them you run into a problem that has been around for quite some time now. Supply.
Let us just take the iMac for instance. If you were to take the entry level iMac you would have to wait five weeks to get your hands on one! That is way too long to satisfy the business needs of smaller vendors. Their customers will laugh and go buy the same product for more money at a bigger vendor with stock if they really have get their hands on it. That vendor is making more money because they will be certified as a gold vendor that pays a little less per product than would a normal reseller.
This just closes the market in terms of ease of access. Smaller vendors who can make the sales cannot do so because there are delays in supply. The delays have been around so long that they cannot possibly be for real. They are most likely artificial. Why this would be the case is an enigma.
By the way, the waiting period on a single order of the second highest spec Apple iMac will set you back waiting up to 11 weeks. The lowest spec one will set you waiting for up to 5 weeks.
Other Apple products suffer the same fate. The entry level Apple Mac Mini will have you waiting up to 18 weeks. One would think,if this was demand driven they would sort out the waiting periods, but all that is happening is that bigger vendors order big (because of waiting periods, not demand) and smaller guys cannot supply at all. Smaller guys in the IT industry tend to give the bargains contrary to other industries.
Ordering any of the MACBOOK’s will send you waiting between 4 and 13 weeks.
I am sure this is unacceptable in any business. I am pretty sure the uptake of Apple computers would be much higher in South Africa at least if the supply issues can be solved, be they real or artificial. Something has to be done to get smaller businesses in on the Apple act. Why would it not make sense to Apple?