Software partnerships and business models: Resell

The European Workshop on Software Ecosystems is an annual event which connects top notch researchers and business professionals in the field of software and platform ecosystems as well as business networks. Here is an example of a topic we will discuss at the event.

Resell

Resell works as follows: Products of the software vendor are supplied to a resell partner. The partner resells the software vendor´s products to the customer.

This is a close relationship between a software vendor and a resell partner.

Three main drivers exist for a partner to resell solutions: significant revenue for the Partner Company, solution fit of the resell solution with the partner´s solutions and non-competitive offering; with revenue being the main driver for the resell.

Business Model Canvas for Resell

In a generic model, a Value Added Reseller (VAR) provides resold products as well as additional value related to these products. The added value can come from a special expertise of the VAR related to a customer segment like consulting expertise in the oil and gas industry. So the value proposition for the customer comes from both, solutions and added value.

The customer relationship is direct and thus the channel is a direct channel to the customer. Customer segments cannot be determined in this generic model, they depend on the partner.

Resell revenue streams are from license and support and maintenance fees. Key activities in this model are selling to customers and enabling sales people to sell. Key resources are sales people and the software provider´s Channel sales manager. Key partner is the software provider.

The cost structure in this model contains cost for customer acquisition, cost of sales in general and cost of partnership management.

More details and background information can be found in these books: