In a move which seems certain to rekindle conflict between its direct and indirect sales forces, IBM is expected to slash the commission paid to its US sales teams for referrals to Industry Remarketers or resellers. According to Computer Systems News, the current level of 100% commission on hardware referrals is likely to be dropped to 75%, as part of the revised Business Partner programme. IBM pays commission regardless of whether the sale is actually made by the IBM representative or passed on to the reseller. Although IBM refused to discuss specific figures or dates, US resellers believe that the new Business Partner programme is due to be implemented within a matter of weeks. The news is being greeted by the US reseller community with dismay, with one spokesman quoted as saying that the measures represent a distinct decrease in co-operation from IBM. No immediate need, however, for resellers in the UK to worry. Sheltering behind the statement that legal differences between countries produce apparent inconsistencies in IBM policy, IBM UK says that far from cutting commission, it will carry on doing just the opposite. In the UK, IBM says it regards the 100% policy as an important method for keeping its third party resellers motivated. In addition, as reporting-back by resellers to representatives is an entirely voluntary business, IBM UK believes that a salesmen deserves to be credited for any sale achieved. An IBM spokesman in the UK agreed that the US decision to cut commission could have unfortunate repercussions throughout the reseller community. So-called cross-channel conflicts bedevilled IBM from the inception of the Industry Remarketer programme in 1979 until 1987, when it introduced the very compensation scheme that appears under threat today.
