REGIONAL CHANNELS
MAYFLEX SNAPSHOT
Mayflex was founded a hundred years ago , in 1917 in Birmingham , England . Over the years its business has been transformed quite dramatically . From initially selling switchgear , electrical , coaxial , voice cables , to copper and fibre cabling , racks , wireless , security and converged IP solutions in the last two decades .
A core offering from Mayflex is the Excel brand , which is an extensive structured cabling system , first launched in 1997 and developed to provide end to end comprehensive solutions . When installed by an accredited Excel partner , Excel products come with a 25-year product and application warranty .
“ Not just anybody can install it . We have security solutions from vendor partners on some of the projects , where you need to be certified to install their products . So , we need to train . We need to identify who the major players are in the market , what type of people are betting on our projects , get them trained to make sure they know the products , and make sure they are picking the right solutions ,” reflects McLetchie , on the proactive involvement of Mayflex .
The distributors involvement with channel partners is key to ensuring its solutions meet technology , commercial and return on investment benchmarks set by end customers , many in prestigious locations .
Another important part of the due diligence that regional channel partners go through with Mayflex is their financial stability . Mayflex and Excel channel partners need to have the financial strength to close any project once they have initiated it . With regard to extended credit terms , McLetchie ’ s approach with recently on-boarded channel partners , is they need to be able to walk before they can run a marathon . “ We have been trading for a hundred years and we are a financially stable company . The reason we are is because we are very sensible when we give the terms that we give . You need to be careful in the Middle East .”
Mayflex extends credit terms to partners that have a good trading history with them . Channel partners need to build confidence with Mayflex , its vendor partners , and its credit controllers . If channel partners have a consistent trading pattern , meet their agreements and adhere to them , credit terms can be extended .
Key Mayflex channel partners are large scale , regional project integrators , handling multi-technology , multi-vendor , multi-solution projects . These include Al Futtaim Technologies , AECOM , Atkins , MDS , Omnix , WSP , MDS , amongst others .
With the growth curve of smart city applications and IoT solutions adoption expected to start rising well before 2020 , Mayflex and its channel partners are well positioned to take advantage of this positive trend in the region .
On the regional side , Mayflex Middle East is based in Dubai , which is the main hub for logistics , sales and support offices , and services customers across the Middle East , Levant and Africa . The warehouse located in Jebel Ali , Free Trade Zone stocks a range of copper , fibre optic and voice-cabling systems , together with racks , cabinets , networking and electronic security products .
Today the business of Mayflex is organised into three divisions . These include structured cabling infrastructure , networking , and electronic security divisions .
Infrastructure This division includes copper cabling systems ; fibre optic cabling systems ; voice cabling systems ; cabinets racks enclosures ; containment , power distribution and protection ; aisle containment ; connected lighting systems ; tooling and testing ; installation accessories ; and software . A principal vendor in this category , whose products Mayflex distributes , is Excel . Other than cabling systems from Excel , global vendors listed in this division , whose products Mayflex includes in its solutions , are APC , Eaton , Ackermann , Philips , Geist , Cablofil , Air Magnet , AFL Noyes , Fluke Networks , Fujikura , OWL , IM & M , amongst others .
Networking This division includes wired Ethernet switching solutions , wireless Ethernet WiFi , environmental and security threat management , asset management , power management . Global vendors listed in this division , whose products Mayflex includes in its solutions , are Aruba , HP Enterprise , Geist , RFCode , APC , Edgecore Networks , amongst others .
Electronic security This division includes CCTV cameras , image recording and storage , infra-red and white light illuminators , transmission , video management software , video content analytics , access control . Global vendors listed in this division , whose products Mayflex includes in its solutions , are Dahua Technology , Axis Communication , Mobotix , Avigilon , Paxton , Raytec , Milestone , amongst others .
24 Issue 03 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS