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12/10/2011

Good Night!

I can sleep well ... but not during the company's office hours....

I can sleep well ... but not during the company's office hours. I flew from Frankfurt to Dubai this week (Gitex Show), from there to Las Vegas (Zebra Convention), and then from there to Wuhan (Scan-Tech China), and came back to Frankfurt via Singapore. From there it was on to Hannover -- the hometown of the world's best wife - ha, ha, my wife does not read my blogs anyway :) -- to see a customer. I can sleep well in hotels and airplanes. But what do you do at midnight or 1AM when the convention is finished, but in Germany it is exactly 9AM? Sleeping pills could not help here. I want to know what is going on at the office. I took my laptop into bed and did not sleep for more than an hour. Although at that time, no one needed anything from me. A steady stream of emails poured in, but there was nothing urgent among them. No one called either. It is just a damnable sickness which keeps me awake. Do other businessmen suffer from this virus too, or is it just me?

In Asia, at least, the time change is not so bad: I can sleep in longer in the mornings, and after dinner, the company in Europe is closed too. Plus, after the third glass of wine in the evening, no email seems bad. And in Asia, no one feels disturbed if you leave your cell phone on the table at an elegant restaurant.

07/10/2011

Jarltech MENA (Middle East & Northern Africa)

The time has come - Jarltech is entering into new markets....

The time has come - Jarltech is entering into new markets. On 1 January 2012 we are opening our sister businesses, Jarltech Gulf (Emirates, Bahrain and Oman), Jarltech Egypt and Jarltech Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. We have paid great attention to detail in these markets. Dubai was particularly hit by the financial crisis, and Egypt is currently in political turmoil (and their outcome cannot currently be assessed). Despite this, software houses there are looking for a distributor that offers full service, high product availability and local management.

Currently our manufacturers are working together mainly with "mixed model" partners, meaning companies which supply both end customers and resellers. The resellers are very distrustful when it comes to project-oriented surroundings in the Middle East, and they do not wish to become caught up in competitive situations to their suppliers. To avoid this, many resellers import products from Asia or the USA on their own, though they would like to save themselves this extra work.

The advantage of the current situation there is that we, as a new employer, will be welcomed everywhere, and will have relatively little trouble finding the appropriate Country Managers. There will also be a seasoned Jarltech employee in Dubai as Area Manager. Our first Arabic catalogue will be available on 1 January.

However, we do not appear to be welcomed by the German public authorities. According to them, in order for us to obtain a visa for an employee in Cairo to attend a week-long seminar in Germany, it will take three months to process!? Plus they will also require a personal meeting. That would be downright economic suicide.

17/09/2011

Thoughts About the InfoForum in Vienna

More than 100 participants attended our Jarltech InfoForum in Vienna. Here is a smattering of my thoughts on it, in no particular order:

...

More than 100 participants attended our Jarltech InfoForum in Vienna. Here is a smattering of my thoughts on it, in no particular order:

--Frustration about the non-participants who accepted the dinner invitation but never showed. I do not find this behavior "normal" at all. Plus, of course we had to pay the conference flat rate, including catering. Naturally plans change, and I wish to thank all of those who cancelled with advance notice.

--Joy about the Hotel Rainers in Vienna. It is not everyday that you will find a hotel director personally checking in on the event at midnight to make sure that everything is in order. The service was great and they were very flexible with spontaneous changes. There were many positive aspects which will remain in the guests' memories.

--Admiration for Martin Limbeck, our presentation "act". It was not a presentation, but rather, a show which motivated everyone in the room. I also learned new things. We know numerous sales trainers who always repeat the same things, and that is annoying. Mr. Limbeck has a different approach, and brings it to life. I am a bit nervous about bargaining over next year's training budget with him during the return flight. If you would like to experience him live, you can see him on 28 September at 8:00 PM on the SWR TV channel. His new book "Nicht gekauft hat er schon" is on the business press bestseller list for a good reason. Please read this book.

--The realisation that the smokers were also well taken care of. Whether it is a Christmas party, company event or customer meeting: smoking simply must be allowed in a separate room. Whether or not you like smoking, it does not help when the hall is always empty because the smokers have gone outside for a cigarette. I happen to be a non-smoker, but it is my belief, not my religion.

--Joy over the many lucrative talks: praise, but also suggestions from our customers and manufacturers. It is great when you can fly home after such an event with a full notebook, and not have the feeling that you wasted your time. Besides, we are all only doing business, not declaring war. It is also good when the representatives of competitive manufacturers also have a good time together.

--I do not have enough Austrian wines in my wine cellar. The "Terra O", a red wine that we selected for the InfoForum, is magnificent.

On Monday at the latest you can see the pictures on www.facebook.com/jarltech.

23/08/2011

Business Culture in the Middle East

Until now, I was in Dubai only for vacation or a conference, but I have recently had the opportunity to fly to the region frequently....

Until now, I was in Dubai only for vacation or a conference, but I have recently had the opportunity to fly to the region frequently. But currently it is not a good vacation destination - with a daytime temperature of 45 degrees, no clouds and 36 degree water, you can hardly enjoy a beach vacation. Throw in Ramadan, so no food, no smoking and no drinking water in public during the day. This adds up to empty hotels.

What positively surprised me was their business mentality. Sometimes up to 8 appointments a day: all meeting participants were punctual, courteous, and they all got to the point without winded monologues. How different that can be in Europe. There is also a large cultural mix of Arabs, Europeans and Indians, all conducting business there.

In case you did not know, the Gitex Fair this October will be held in Dubai. Anyone looking to relive a CeBIT circa 1998 is in the right place. I can strongly recommend that you go there to look at the market, not only as a commercial market, but there is also a lot of technology and software to be bought there. Oh and by the way: in October the weather is also more pleasant. :)

23/08/2011

Boldfaced Appointment Cancellations

How do you stay courteous when someone cancels an appointment for a stupid reason? Has this ever happened to you? Excuses, which are clearly excuses?...

How do you stay courteous when someone cancels an appointment for a stupid reason? Has this ever happened to you? Excuses, which are clearly excuses? Of course, people get sick and flights get cancelled. And if someone does not feel like meeting with us: then simply tell us, or else come up with a good excuse, but please not at the last minute.

Just recently, one of our managers booked a non-refundable flight to Italy, only to hear the day before the meeting: "Oh, I accidentally scheduled our meeting during my vacation." I would say that in this case, he should have interrupted his vacation, because he was too stupid to put it on his calendar. But no, this is an important supplier, so it is important to keep things harmonious. So, that means rescheduling and writing a sympathetic email, even though you could burst. What we really should do is send the bill for the flight.

Something similar happened to me last week in Asia. I wasn't there for pleasure, my schedule was booked solid. I was scheduled to have dinner with a supplier. After waiting half an hour after our scheduled meeting time had passed, I called him: "I am so sorry, but I am stuck in Singapore, and my battery was empty. I will only be returning the day after tomorrow." If a customer is important to you, you could at least come up with a more believable lie. A manager lets his battery die, despite the fact that there are outlets all over the place, and oh yes, every hotel room has a telephone. I think he simply forgot about the appointment. But to realize that you are a few thousand kilometers away half an hour later does not sound normal to me. The lesson learned here is: with a good view of Hong Kong, you can even enjoy a nice meal alone.

12/08/2011

Jarltech Sponsors the ID World Congress, Milan - Why?

We decided to sponsor the 10th ID World Congress in Milan this year, not only because the patroness, Sophie de la Giroday, did a beautiful translating job: the...

We decided to sponsor the 10th ID World Congress in Milan this year, not only because the patroness, Sophie de la Giroday, did a beautiful translating job: the participants' list is astounding. And: no boring, hour-long presentations, but, rather, 15-minute brief introductions about the company and her visions. Plus a lot of networking.

But what does a distributor have to do with all of this? Good question. We thought about it long and hard: technology is a wonderful thing, but in order for it to be interesting for the distributor, it has to be sold in large volumes. Discussions with end customers are interesting, but Jarltech does not sell to end customers.

Despite this, I think that we, as a special distributor, must show manufacturers and customers alike that we can choose to support technology which does not automatically promise millions in turnover. We also need to be partners with small-series manufacturers. Of course, we need the know-how to decide if we need two or five manufacturers in our portfolio for, say, RFID technology. Plus, for our own use, we would naturally like to convince the manufacturer to follow our path early on, before he builds up a network of 300 direct partners in Europe, and then has to painfully convert to distribution in five years.

The end customers knows that a reliable distributor needs to stand behind his system integrator. And we want to make our presence known.

First and foremost the priority at such a conference is not that we as sponsors have our logo displayed everywhere - it is more important to show presence early on when networking in the technology community.

Oh yes, if you are interested in our segment, have a look at www.idworldonline.com

28/07/2011

And Just Like That, the First Half of 2011 is Gone

The positive half-year figures are in: our group had a turnover of 41 Mio Euro (= 58.5 Mio USD) in the first half of 2011....

The positive half-year figures are in: our group had a turnover of 41 Mio Euro (= 58.5 Mio USD) in the first half of 2011. That is an amazing 25% more than the first half of 2010. It is especially noticeable in Jarltech Austria GmbH, who achieved a growth of 50%. Since the second half of the year is traditionally stronger than the first, we are confident that we will also surpass our 2011 goals. Interestingly enough, with a 25% increase in revenue, orders increased by 16%. That means the revenue per order increased.

The new foreign offices in Spain and Denmark are also growing positively in 2011.

28/07/2011

Jarltech Goes China?

Over the last 20 years I have been to China more than 150 times. But only now does the market seem ready to me for us to capture a new sales market....

Over the last 20 years I have been to China more than 150 times. But only now does the market seem ready to me for us to capture a new sales market. We have maintained a Support Center in China, run a sales office and sold successfully, and cooperated with more than 40 suppliers. But there has also been bad news; I also opened a wine store in Shenzhen. Just between you and me, it was the nicest wine store in the world, however, commercially seen, nothing but a shambles. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes.

Retail and hospitality in China focus on local products. Cheap, cheap, cheap. But more and more, logistics companies, large chains and subsidiaries of international corporations are asking for brand name products. Scanners should come from Datalogic or Honeywell, POS printers from Epson. But these large manufacturers have trouble with the fragmented selling systems in China, especially when the product goes through ten sets of hands before it is installed. Large IT distributors are already in China, but they are concentrating on bread and butter products.

Most of the existing distributors limit themselves to a few brands, a small local region, or are "mixed models" - meaning they also deliver to end-customers. However, many new developments make locating there easier: founding a 100% subsidiary in China has become easier. Import and export licenses are also easier to obtain, as is English-speaking personnel. European insurance companies are liable for warehouses in China, and banks convert the RMB, the Chinese currency.

Who knows, maybe we will do something. . .

19/07/2011

Jarltech Fair in Vienna

I am looking forward to meeting you in person on 16 September in Vienna, where we will be hosting our next "InfoForum" for our German-speaking resellers....

I am looking forward to meeting you in person on 16 September in Vienna, where we will be hosting our next "InfoForum" for our German-speaking resellers. After the fair and manufacturers' presentations, our guest speaker and sales trainer, Mr. Martin Limbeck, will address us. We are very impressed with his work, his presentations, and his books. I am sure that some of his inspiration will rub off onto you - this is a real highlight, so please join us. I can highly recommend his latest book "Nicht gekauft hat er schon" to you.

Afterwards, there will be what I hope is a highly communicative dinner. Mr. Schmidt and I will be in Vienna the week after next, for a sample tasting at the Hotel Rainers.

We chose Vienna this time around because we wanted to select an attractive location. Because the hotel rooms there are more expensive than we are used to, we are sponsoring reduced room rates, with the hope that at least some of the resellers will take advantage of spending a nice weekend in Vienna. I personally love Vienna, and not just because of the Austrian wines. :)