In one of the longest post-merger integrations, Ingram Micro is still evolving. Though growth accelerated, some of the challenges remainedwith a few creditors still not happy, and a few partners still complaining about the extremely slow decision-making. In fact, Samsung, one of the major principals of both the pre-merged entities, filed a case in the Bangalore High Court stating the merger would not be in the interest of principals and creditors, as late as Sep 2006.

But all this did not deter Ingram from widening its portfolio and getting back in the growth trajectory. In FY 07, it added point of sales terminals and thin clients to its portfolio, signing on Symbol, and Wyse. Capitalizing on the growing user base of Linux, along with support from hardware vendors, Ingram tied-up with Red Hat. It also entered an alliance with storage solutions vendor, Adaptec, to distribute its unified serial solution and Snap Server network storage products.

But Ingram saw maximum growth from the good old PC, adding LG products to its portfolio. Storage became a more active part of the business, while peripherals stayed steady. Components, however, saw sluggish growth, thanks to the shift towards branded PCs.

As all vendors wanted to increase reach in the tier-II cities, Ingram responded by expanding in those areas. The result was a higher share from these markets. HP continues to be the largest revenue generator for Ingram , apart from Lenovo, IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft.

And finally, for the first time, Ingram Micro focused on marketing its brand to attract recruits. DQ

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