Q: Why replace a well establish partner program with something new?
A: We are not replacing the existing partner program. The new partner program should be seen as an extension of the existing program. The existing program is fulfilling its purposes: to establish a mutual beneficial business relationship between the partners and LS Retail. The new program adds two more partner certifications: Gold and Platinum. These partner certifications reflect the partner´s focus and the size of the LS Retail business.
Q: Will LS Retail differentiate the treatment of partners with different certifications?
A: Basically no. The LS Retail Partner agreement, which is the same for all partners, describes the relationship between the partners and LS Retail. In addition to the rights and obligations described in the agreement, the new partner program provides additional well defined benefits to the Gold and Platinum Partners.
Q: What does LS Retail hope to achieve with the new Partner Program?
A: It is our intention to make the entire partner management more dynamic. We will assist all partners in growing their LS Retail business and achieve the benefits from the different certifications. So in short we hope to achieve more focused partners and an increased profitability for both parties
Q: The retail business fluctuates from year to year. Will this cause partners to change certifications from year to year as well?
A: It is right that the LS Retail business fluctuates from year to year. We often see that the license revenue from a big order will be posted in one year and implemented in the next (where revenue will drop). To avoid partners shifting the partner certificate from year to year, we are basing the financial requirement on a 2 year total.
Q: Will it be difficult to achieve the different certificates.
A: Before setting the targets, we analyzed the project sizes and partner performance in the last 18 months. We then set the targets, so they are achievable for partners who are reasonably focused on the retail business. To reach gold level it requires that a partner sells 4-5 average LS Retail projects over 2 years (or less if you have additional sales from existing customers).
Q: How many gold and platinum partners do you expect?
A: When we make the first evaluation at the end of June, we expect to have 5-7 Platinum and 10 Gold partners.
Q: Is maintenance included in the financial requirement?
A: No, not in the 2008 program. The reason is that we want to focus on future business. Many partners provide a lot of maintenance revenue, and we are currently thinking about how we can reward that in the next version of the partner program.
Q: Many of your partners have more offices or are operating in different countries. How do you calculate the certification level?
A: It can be done in different ways. We have decided to add the results of the different offices of a partner and let the accumulated result determine the certification level. However, we will let the individual results determine the local benefits.