Ingram Micro Expands POS Touchscreen Portfolio
The distributor’s Micro Data Capture/POS Division will now support, market, and resell the Elo TouchSystems product line.
Ingram Micro Inc., based in Santa Ana, Calif., has expanded its business relationship with Elo TouchSystems, a business of Tyco Electronics Corporation, to include North America. Under the terms of the distribution agreement, the Ingram Micro Data Capture/POS Division will support, market, and resell the complete line of Elo TouchSystems touch monitor products, including LCD touchmonitors, touchcomputers, and custom solutions. Elo TouchSystems and Ingram Micro have maintained a successful relationship in Europe for the past six years and in Mexico for the past year.
“Touchscreen technology brings to life a high-value business solution that can be sold into many key market verticals including retail, government, education,and healthcare,” says John Soumbasakis, senior vice president and general manager of Strategic Divisions, Ingram Micro North America. “We’re pleased to be Elo’s first broadline, value-added distributor, and will leverage our vertical expertise to generate demand for Elo’s portfolio and enable our solution provider partners to identify, market, and sell touchscreen solutions more effectively in today’s economy.”
“Our expanded distribution alliance with Ingram Micro marks a very significant milestone in Elo’s overall channel growth throughout North America,” says Mark Mendenhall, vice president Tyco Electronics and general manager, Elo TouchSystems. “We’re eager to introduce our innovative touchscreen technology to a broader marketplace that can truly benefit from the improved efficiency, productivity, and access touchscreen solutions offer. Ingram Micro brings tremendous scale to our global market outreach and provides us access to a wider variety of channel partners who specialize in vertical markets.”
In two separate studies from May 2008, market research firms DisplaySearch and iSuppli forecast that the touchscreen market will grow by double digits over the next three years. DisplaySearch’s report forecasts unit sales growth at 12 percent between 2008 and 2015, with a 20 percent increase in revenue. The iSuppli report forecasts unit sales growth of 25 percent and revenue growth of 17 percent between 2008 and 2012. Primary market drivers include reduction of labor costs through customer self-service and the availability of new user interfaces that employ touch technology, according to the reports.√dž
“Demand for technologies that help businesses reduce costs without compromising service levels is growing worldwide,” says Soumbasakis.√dž”In 2009, we expect demand for touch technology to continue despite, and in many cases in light of, the economic climate we’re all facing, which is good news for all of us who play in this space.”
