State Your Claim: Is Going Direct to End Users by Manufacturers a Good or Bad Thing?

The debate about manufacturers going directly to end users in the access control industry is complex. As more startups enter the market, the traditional channel approach becomes increasingly challenging. At the XForum, activated by the Access Control Executive Brief , at The Security Event (TSE) we brought together a panel of esteemed industry leaders, each with their unique perspectives and experiences. This panel included Serra Luck of acre security , Josef ?achta of Sharry , Jamie McMillen of Suprema Inc. , and Ryan Schonfeld of HiveWatch . Together, they delved into the question that has started to be debated as the access control industry changes: Is Going Direct to End Users by Manufacturers a Good or Bad Thing???This article explores the insights shared by these experts and summarizes the collective takeaways as presented live.?

Cause and Effect: Digital Transformation + Startups + Influx of Capital

The access control industry is significantly transitioning, propelled mainly by digital transformation. One aspect of digital transformation is that new players, such as startups, appear as the capital markets start to inject capital. These new players typically look to disrupt, and time after time, a way to do so is by focusing on the go-to-market strategies. The access control industry is no different. These well-capitalized startups are challenging the status quo of the traditional channel approach, which they often find impractical. Instead, they opt for a more direct approach, aiming to build trust and gather customer feedback. The effectiveness of this approach, however, is contingent on the stage of the company.

Business Development is Different From Direct Sales

There's a fundamental difference between business development and sales. While the former is about creating awareness and interest, the latter is about selling a product or solution. This distinction becomes particularly important when considering how businesses discover and make changes. Access to information has changed, and businesses are not just selling products but solutions.

Solution Based Selling?

Manufacturers need to show more value than just selling a product. This entails a greater emphasis on solution-based selling. It's also noticeable that more end users are attending industry shows than just integrators, which indicates a growing interest from the end user side.

The Role of Value

The role of value-added resellers (VARs) is becoming more critical. As security solutions integrate more widely with other systems, the industry is shifting towards more enterprise software-based and managed security integrators. VARs play a crucial role in providing these integrated solutions.

It is Inevitable

Disruption is an inevitable part of any industry's evolution. Those who embrace change and are open to new ways of doing things will survive and thrive in this dynamic landscape. It's not a binary issue; there will be winners and losers. However, those open to change are more likely to succeed, and this is a sentiment echoed by our industry leaders.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, manufacturers going directly to end users can be good and bad, depending on the specific circumstances, what stage of life your business is in, and your desire to embrace or make change. However, the collective view is that it is a net positive for all stakeholders. As the industry evolves, manufacturers must be flexible and adapt to the changing landscape driven by the end user and market pressures, and so should the channel. Whether they go direct or stick to the traditional channel approach, the key is, and always will be, delivering value. This unwavering focus on customer satisfaction is a reassuring constant in the ever-changing access control industry.

The Access Control Executive Brief recently partnered with the Nineteen Group at The Security Event in Birmingham to host the X Forum, a thought leadership stage. Over three days, 32 engaging presentations were delivered by over 40 speakers from 35 leading global companies, including 霍尼韦尔 , Brivo , Wavelynx , and HID . The forum adopted various presentation formats, encouraging a diversity of viewpoints on topics like trends and vertical market discussions. This successful event provided a wealth of content to be shared in depth in the Access Control Executive Brief and LinkedIn .