Success Stories

J.W. Locke & Associates Keeps Competition at Bay with ChannelOnline™; Reseller Shaves Quoting Tasks from Two hours to Five Minutes

For ten years, J.W. Locke & Associates has been helping small and medium-sized businesses in Southern California with their computer networking needs. Known for personalized service and attention to detail, the firm boasts a loyal customer base of more than 100 accounting, legal, manufacturing, and chemical distribution companies. From routers and switches to PCs and printers on the network to the services that make the network work, J.W. Locke & Associates' four employees pull it all together in a timely and cost-effective manner.

But when you're in a business segment targeted by the "big box" discount retailers, such as Best Buy and Circuit City, you have to find ways to be more agile and protect your customer base. Says J.W. Locke & Associates founder and president, Jim Locke, "The big boys have decided that they can do what we've been doing for years better than we can. To keep them at bay, we must not only continue to provide top-notch service and quality but also expand our product and service offerings to protect and grow our revenue."

Giving Every Customer the Time of Day

As the owner of a small business serving other small businesses, Locke knows that time is one of the most precious commodities. "There's never enough time to get what you need to get done, no matter whether it's nine o'clock in the evening or nine o'clock in the morning," says Locke. "From the beginning, I knew that to build this business and create customer loyalty, I had to be cost-effective and use my time wisely."

However, for the first three years, that was easier said than done, especially when it concerned pulling together a quote. "It was, quite frankly, a mess," remembers Locke. "It had to be a good-sized deal to deserve a quote because it was going to take at least a couple of hours to gather all the information and prep the quote."

J. W. Locke & Associates continued to grow, albeit slowly, until Jim Locke attended the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas seven years ago.

"I saw ChannelOnline and it took me all of 45 minutes to be convinced that this was going to save me a lot of time and help me grow my customer base more efficiently. I bought the subscription right then and there," recalls Locke.

Back at the office, Locke "brought the software in, plugged it in to our network, and set up our accounts. That was it — we were up and running with ChannelOnline in no time," explained Locke.

Cutting the Quote Process from Hours to Minutes

From the very first quote Locke put together, he knew he had made the right decision. "Right from the start, ChannelOnline allowed us to leverage our time better so we could focus on servicing our customers rather than on completing mundane tasks," notes Locke. "Quoting products went from a two-hour task to a five-minute one — even for complex quotes — because we no longer had to check each distributor's Web site for price and availability. And sales growth began to really take off."

Locke and his employees now use CNET Channel's ChannelOnline solution every day to check inventory stock levels at the one dozen distributors through which J.W. Locke & Associates purchases products. Says Locke, "ChannelOnline simplifies the otherwise difficult process of navigating and staying current with the number of vendors and new products on the market."

Retaining a Loyal Customer Base by Expanding Offerings

But ChannelOnline has done more than just save J. W. Locke & Associates time putting together quotes; it has enabled the firm to maintain its competitive advantage against the big box stores by expanding the breadth of products it can offer to customers. "We look at ChannelOnline as a sales enabler. For example, we found out through ChannelOnline categories that a certain manufacturer made fax machines. We didn't know the vendor made fax machines. But now, we sell that product to our customers. That's business that would normally go to a discount retailer that's coming to us strictly because of ChannelOnline — it was just a matter of leveraging the information in the system," states Locke.

Locke also views ChannelOnline as a competitive differentiator in his own market. "A good number of our peers just sell software and services — they don't want to sell hardware anymore, because there's not enough money in it to be worth their while," says Locke. "But ChannelOnline makes it easy for us to make that incremental income as well as make our customers feel that they can come to J.W. Locke & Associates for all their technology purchases."

At the end of the day, Locke has a hard time imagining life without ChannelOnline. "It's a playing-field leveler that enables small companies like us to have powerful tools to compete against the big guys. ChannelOnline has been instrumental in helping us stave off the competition by continuing to deliver personalized service, while expanding the range of products we offer to our customers."

About J.W. Locke & Associates

J.W. Locke & Associates LLC is a provider of technology solutions to small, medium and home-based businesses in Southern California. The company's goal is to provide simple, understandable and affordable hardware, software, networking and service solutions that make good business sense and show a return on investment. For more information, call (626) 296-6892 or visit www.jwlocke.com .