The Personal Computer unit of Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG is to sell through the channel in the UK in an effort to get a bigger slice of the market. The reasons given are that Siemens in the UK cannot get the direct sales staff in place fast enough to meet the aggressive sales targets set for it by Walter Rossler, head of Personal Computer sales worldwide. Rossler wants results fast because parent company Siemens AG is pressing hard for a 15% return on capital (CI No 3,096). The Bracknell-based UK subsidiary has several million pounds to spend on marketing and according to the newly promoted head of the Personal Computer unit Peter Jones, In the next few months, you can expect to see Siemens Nixdorf everywhere. Siemens claims to be on target to produce more than 1 milllion Personal Computers this year. By its own calculations, this puts it 5th in Europe (IDC currently has Siemens Nixdorf 6th, behind Dell Computer Corp) but within the UK, it is still outside the top 10. Jones wants to propel Siemens above the number 10 slot before the end of the year. At the center of his plan is the total U turn in sales techniques, adopting a 100% channel selling strategy using just two distributors and a growing number of resellers. In contrast, Dell Computer Corp. Direct continues to accelerate using the direct sales methods which Jones now wants to abandon.
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