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n Focus On n •
As we approach the completion of Tech Data’s 40th year in business we take a look at the approach the company takes to doing business and what the future might hold for Tech Data and its partnerships with customers and suppliers.
T
he IT industry had hardly got started in 1974 when Tech Data was founded by Edward C. Raymund to market data processing supplies to end users of mini
and mainframe computers. Seven years later his son, Steve Raymund, acquired the company from his father and in 1982, transitioned the business into a distributor of PC products.
Tat move was decisive. Te PC industry was just getting started and Raymund had seen the potential. Critically, he also had a strong vision that focused on building partnerships and serving the needs of its customers and partners. Steve Raymund of course, remains chairman of the board of directors to this day and his presence provides a living and very important connection to the founding principles of the company, says David Watts, Commercial Director of Tech Data UK and Ireland.
‘Steve’s father founded the company and it was Steve who took Tech Data into the PC business and set us on the course we have followed ever since. Having that connection and having been there right at the very start, Steve understands more than anyone what Tech Data is all about – not only partnership and customer focus, but also integrity, respect and the values the business is known for and follows to this day. Having Steve as the chairman also provides us with a very stabilising and consistent presence and that’s something that we know our customers and partners value very highly indeed.’
Focus on partnership
Te values and focus on partnership and customers formulated all those years ago are now embedded in the culture of the business and run right through the business, says Watts. ‘Tose early principles are what the company
has lived and breathed throughout its history and while we’ve continued to develop and add to them and the business itself has grown phenomenally, in terms of its spirit and attitude, Tech Data has not changed all that much over the years – certainly not since I have been here.’
Watts is one of several UK managers and staff who have spent more than a decade within the UK and Ireland business. Watts joined in 2003; Andy Dow, HP Enterprise Group and Marketing Director, has spent more than 10 years at the company in two spells since 1994; Andy Gass, Managing Director UK and Ireland, first came to the business 1993. Tere are a number of personnel within the UK business who have been around for a similar length of time or even longer (see right).
People stay on, says Watts, because of the culture and this adds to the feeling of strength and stability. ‘It’s something of a cliché to say it, but Tech Data really is a people business. Not only in the sense that it understands that it is people who make the difference to partnerships and the focus on customers and suppliers, and therefore effectively make the company what it is, but also that people make a difference to each other.
Collective responsibility
‘Tere is a feeling of collective responsibility, mutual respect and ownership. Tere is a genuine desire to help each other out. It is very much a teamwork ethic, where everyone has an important role to play; it is very much all for one, and one for all at Tech Data. People trust and care about each other and about the business – and most important of all, they care about customers and our partners and getting it right for them.
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