One stop shops

It is no secret that organisations across the UK are looking to reduce the number of suppliers they work with. This is happening due to a multitude of reasons, but some key drivers are: reducing costs, reducing complexity and improving the employee experience.  

The Channel thrives on keeping an eye on what businesses need or want, and adjusting offerings to meet those aspirations. So, with an increasing number of businesses looking to streamline their suppliers, channel companies are diversifying their portfolios to ensure they can meet customer needs.

Stakeholders from across the Channel noted they are seeing customers moving towards a reduced number of suppliers. Bertrand Pourcelot, CEO, Enreach for Service Providers, discussed what he is seeing. He said, “Many CTOs or MDs believe it is simpler to reduce their number of suppliers, and if done well, this can have benefits, but it’s important to understand all the factors involved, as well as interpretations of what the term one stop shop means. 

“Businesses may want the freedom of best-of-breed choice, but they may also want to reduce their technology risk by having it provided by a single supplier in subscription mode. So, expectations could conflict, but even so, the trend is definitely towards reducing the number of suppliers and simplification.”

Lee Broxson, CSO, Jola, added, “Research suggests that end-users are reducing the number of suppliers they deal with to increase efficiency and reduce costs. We have seen a similar trend in the Channel with partners looking for the best deal, however, factors such as trusted relationships, ability to maintain control and ease of doing business are also important.

This is happening across the ecosystem, with distributors and wholesalers facing similar pressures as resellers and MSPs. Sonia Harjani, joint company founder at Sona Business, commented, “It’s happening across the ecosystem but there’s also a market where wholesalers and distributors are working together in tandem to offer a broader product portfolio or service wrap. Playing to each other’s strengths can be very effective.”

Building a one stop shop

So, what are the advantages of building a one stop shop? Gavin Jones, director of wholesale partner channel, BT Wholesale, said, “Today’s end-users have increasingly varied and complex needs, from connectivity to cloud, cybersecurity and managed IT. To meet these demands, channel partners must differentiate themselves with multi-dimensioned offerings that not only help them stand out but also meet their changing needs and boost their bottom line.

“By adopting a one stop shop approach, channel partners can significantly reduce the administrative burden of managing multiple relationships, streamline procurement to accelerate time-to-market, and unlock upselling and cross-selling opportunities through bundled solutions. Offering a diverse range of services under one roof strengthens customer loyalty, simplifying decision-making and creating a more seamless experience.”

By helping customers with more of their requirements, channel companies can also build stronger relationships, with the reseller or MSP becoming a trusted advisor to businesses. Adam Wilson, director, strategic partnerships, EMEA, Vonage, said, “The draw of one stop shops for customers is understandable. Working with a holistic solution provider reduces costs and simplifies solutions for businesses already grappling with unmanageable SaaS sprawls.

“Resellers and MSPs also benefit by tapping into new revenue streams from within the same consumer base, and forging stronger relationships with customers, making them less likely to jump ship.”

Scott Rixon, solutions director, Evolve IP, also emphasised the relationship benefits of creating a one stop shop. He said, “Relationship building. Trusting and delivering as much as possible from one source helps create a powerful resource that ultimately is a win-win for all parties. Resellers need to be working with providers that understand different product sets and are bringing best-of-breed solutions to them so that they become a one-stop-shop too. Education and support as well as the required technology are imperative.”

Some stakeholders consider there is inherent risk in not transitioning to a one stop shop. Pourcelot, from Enreach for Service Providers, said, “One stop shops are critical in a market where business customers expect more from their suppliers. Unless you have a vertical that is broad enough to deliver volume, it is very risky not to adopt a one stop shop approach aggregating multiple services, regardless of where you sit in the supply chain. And there is still plenty of room for manoeuvre within one stop shops to ensure that a channel company has something different or special to offer.

“Even with the advent of some SaaS vendors going direct to end users, there is still room for the Channel to provide well-orchestrated solutions to businesses, with more deeply integrated and customised solutions that add clear value to a customer. This helps to overcome the problem that one stop shops can sometimes be quite uniform, making it hard to differentiate.”

Expanding your portfolio

Resellers, MSPs and other channel companies looking to create a one stop shop offering for customers should start with considering what their customers’ end goals might be. Jones, from BT Wholesale, highlighted the importance of meeting future needs.

Jones explained, “Creating a one stop shop begins with understanding customer needs and pain points to tailor solutions that truly address their immediate but also future challenges. By developing a comprehensive portfolio that integrates emerging technologies with value-added propositions – such as expert consultation and ongoing support – channel companies can deliver seamless, end-to-end solutions that drive real impact.”

Jones added that partnering with the right vendor is also critical. He explained, “In today’s increasingly complex technology landscape, customers rely on trusted providers to offer best-in-class advice and solutions. Partnering with the right vendors ensures access to technologies that integrate effortlessly, ensuring a unified and exceptional customer experience.”

He emphasised the importance of keeping an eye on how the technology landscape might evolve. “Embracing opportunities from emerging technologies like AI and 5G is paramount to staying ahead and driving future growth.”

Wilson, from Vonage, said, “Channel companies need to start small when setting up their own one stop shop, and always prioritise the immediate needs of their existing customers. It’s challenging to maintain a standard of excellence across a wide range of services.

“Bearing all this in mind, channel sellers should focus on developing expertise across multiple domains - you don’t want to be a Jack of all trades and a master of none. This means investing in training and certifications for your team, so you have competencies in all of the technology areas you are offering.

“Some SaaS vendors and distributors can assist by supporting your efforts in a new technology area, making it easy for your teams to generate and close opportunities without becoming an immediate expert. This presents businesses with time and thinking space, plus a return on investment, before jumping in with both feet!

“Next, channel partners can focus on developing industry-specific solutions, offering flexible pricing models, and providing value-added services like training, support, and consulting.”

Pourcelot, from Enreach for Service Providers, said, “To avoid one stop shops becoming a uniform offering, combine the best of both worlds: a comprehensive set of choices for customers but available as a single combined environment that is easy for the Channel to tailor and manage, with options such as bring your own carrier and integration of services from third parties, even if those compete with each other but can co-exist.

Increasingly critical to being a one stop shop is the inclusion of OSS and BSS, including subscription management, provisioning, invoicing, renewal and more. OSS and BSS put resellers, MSPs and even distributors in a much stronger position. If that is outside their expertise, they must look to technology vendors for help.

Harjani, from Sona Business, said, “Everyone needs to evolve and move with the times but equally it’s important to build on your core strengths and not diversify too far too fast.  Bolting additional products and services onto your core offering is the best way forward. Continue on the pathway of what you are good at and develop in an organic way.  Don’t overstretch but acknowledge limitations and get help when needed.

Rixon, from Evolve IP, said, “Technology never stands still. Resellers need to be able to offer their customers the latest solutions that best fit the needs of their customers. They can only do this if a strong platform and relationship are in place with their key supplier. We focus heavily on this element of our business to help our partners become successful.  

Partner support

As with many challenges within the Channel, working with partners to find joint success will be critical. Partners can support one stop shop aspirations in a number of ways.

“Gaining constant frequent customer feedback is very important so you can pivot and better address their needs,” said Harjani, from Sona Business. “Partnering is so much more than just buying a product or service at an appealing price. A symbiotic relationship works best as part of a two-way process.”

Vonage’s Wilson added, “Portfolios can be easily and cost-efficiently expanded by gradually incorporating complementary services that align with customer needs; this can include collaborating with partners and other providers to offer customers with a broader range of services, such as white-label solutions.

“Or it might mean working with vendors and distributors on a referral basis until you and your teams have seen success from a new technology and are ready to take it to market as your own offering. Training materials are another example of low-cost resources that can either be created in-house or attained from partners. Small efforts like these can really make a difference in the success businesses can achieve with your services.”

Pourcelot, from Enreach for Service Providers, explained how his organisation approaches supporting its partner community as a developer of a UC platform for service providers and integrators. Partners may need to provide customers with a broader technology set, so the company ensures its technologies can work well with others.

Pourcelot said, “Expanding into being a one stop shop requires finding ways to add more expertise and capabilities, including OSS and BSS. Unless a channel company intends to build everything itself, that means working with vendors who are specialists in different areas, such as UCaaS, network, and connectivity and cybersecurity. 

“UCaaS might be an important part of the overall puzzle, but it is certainly not the only one. The critical criteria here is around the Channel identifying where and how they will add value, with the starting point always being understanding the end customer’s needs.”

Pourcelot added that Enreach for Service Providers believes that vendors taking an API-driven customisable by design approach could be “a gamechanger for the Channel” because it can expose the Channel to differentiation capabilities that create value. 

He also commented on the challenges that can be created by pricing. Pourcelot said, “Technology vendors who publish their pricing publicly are a big issue because the end user can see it, which puts pressure on the value chain. So, it is vital to select technology vendors who are committed to being reseller-or-MSP-friendly and working together to create value-added services for customers rather than trying to compete with their channel partners.”

For Broxson, from Jola, partner support is all about empowering partners with the right tools and portals. He said, “In mobile data, wholesale suppliers need to give partners the tools to uncover and win deals. They usually compete with the mobile networks’ direct sales arms.

“They must be an aggregator with access to all the networks and an independent MVNO. Most importantly, everything must be automated, with real-time APIs offering zero-touch provisioning and management through a single self-service portal.”

He explained that wholesalers offering a wider range of solutions to partners can help them to provide a one stop shop solution to end-user businesses. This, he said, can often reduce costs and facilitate long-term relationships.

Broxson put this into context with the example of a PSTN replacement project. He said, “When replacing PSTN solutions, end-users are looking for suppliers who can provide connectivity and hosted voice solutions. If there is an issue, they only have one supplier to call. When replacing 3G solutions, partners who can offer pre-configured connected hardware, reducing roll-out complexities and costs, often win the deal.”

The rise of MSPs

This trend towards becoming a one stop shop for customers is largely expected to continue. Rixon, from Evolve IP, said, “I think these trends will continue alongside continual market consolidation. Those service providers that don’t or can’t continue to innovate, perhaps through lack of investment, simply won’t be around for too long and will get taken over by a bigger rival.”

In summary, this move towards a one stop shop offering is about channel companies transitioning fully into the managed service era, where they aspire to meet all customer needs.

Jones, from BT Wholesale, said, “The rise of the managed service provider marks a technological shift, pushing channel partners beyond traditional telco to deliver comprehensive portfolios featuring emerging technologies like AI. This trend is set to accelerate alongside the rapid pace of innovation. 

“The shift to a one stop shop is more than just an expansion of services – it’s a strategic move to embrace the future of connectivity, innovation, and sustainability. Partners who align with this evolution stand to capture new market opportunities while forging stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships.”