Dan Fletcher talks about how engaging and having a discourse are integral parts of how Midwich does business. He elaborates how these allow the value-added distributor to serve AV professionals and partners.
Communication is an essential part in the transfer of information between parties. But communication can only happen if there is a concerted effort to engage in discourse. Dan Fletcher, managing director for Midwich Asia Pacific, says: “We look at ourselves as a partner for the people and businesses working in AV. Midwich is a value-added distributor and a key component of that is engaging and having a discourse with the people we work with. We want to provide value to both our vendor partners and our customers, and we can’t do this unless we understand what they want to accomplish and what challenges they are facing. Of course, we want to provide value to our customers on products and price, but we also want to do more than that.”
The desire to reach out and engage with the AV industry sees Midwich bring back its APAC VIP Summit this year. Fletcher says: “We invited our key customers and partners to the APAC VIP Summit and we pitched no products. Our aim was to create a forum where the AV industry could come and discuss broad, meta-level topics and trends from the economy, credit risk to working towards educating the next generation of AV talent.”
Fletcher continues: “This gathering and engagement is invaluable to us as a value-added distributor because it allows us to understand how our partners see their businesses evolving and that allows us to pinpoint areas where they might need support. At the APAC VIP Summit this year NDI was highlighted as a technology that is set to impact the market and we had a discussion around carbon footprint and offsetting that was very well received. This feedback is invaluable to Midwich because it shows us areas that we need to focus on to continue to deliver value for our clients and partners.”
AV professionals do not have to wait for the next APAC VIP Summit to engage with Midwich as the distributor is investing in showrooms and experience centres across the region. Fletcher says: “We’re increasing the total footprint of our office in Singapore, nearly doubling the space we had previously. Midwich’s space in Melbourne is next on the project list. Our showrooms are transitioning into experience centres where we can highlight how our portfolio of solutions comes together to create value for customers and users.”
He continues: “With our recent partnership with Biamp, we have a wide range of new products and solutions to demonstrate. And we are also doing things like showing off complete LED solutions. We’re focusing on the needs of our partners and incorporating more solutions that we feel can help their businesses.”
The opportunity to meet and engage with Midwich is also present for those attending InfoComm Asia 2023. Fletcher concludes: “We’ve taken a larger footprint this year which aligns with our growth year on year. We’re going to have a dedicated space for Biamp as well within this larger space. Being present at this show aligns with our strategic goals of growing in the region and it allows us to represent ourselves as a true agnostic partner for our vendors. We’re trying to get this message across to Asia Pacific’s AV industry and hopefully our efforts to engage with our partners through special events, participation in tradeshows and creation of dedicated spaces will bear fruit.”