Following a major reorganisation of its third party sales channels in July, DEC UK has announced the setting up of an official rental distribution network. Under the pilot two-year scheme which comes into operation in January 1988, companies able to meet rigorous selection criteria will be able to rent out low end DEC hardware up to and including the MicroVAX 3000. If the scheme is successful, DEC will introduce it on a worldwide basis. Companies like Hamilton Rentals, now owned by Atlantic Computers Plc, which in the past have offered the whole range of DEC kit for rent will no longer be allowed to do so. Users wanting the short-term use of a VAX 8250 or above will have to lease, or buy, instead. To qualify for the scheme, applicants will have to prove their financial stability, show DEC their marketing plans and demonstrate sufficient warehousing and other back-up facilities. Like OEM customers, these Authorised Rental Companies will be eligible for DEC’s three current discount schemes – Digital Business Agreement; Reseller Product Adder; and Earned Sales Credit. DEC UK’s Channels Marketing Manager Cheryl Shearer looks for between UKP20m and UKP40m through the Authorised Renters in the first year. She has received two applications so far and expects to appoint five or six – but says that DEC considers nearly half of the 20 companies leasing DEC equipment in the UK to be undesirable.
