Technical Services
The CMS Solutions Team is made up of accredited and highly skilled technical experts, who are always on hand to support partners and act as an extension of a reseller’s own technical capabilities. We’re trusted advisors within the industry, and our technical skills enable customers to take their business to the next level.
Pre-Sales Configuration
Our pre-sales technical experts have the knowledge and expertise to identify the best product or solution for a customer based on their individual needs and circumstances. Utilising the integration centre in our Castleford warehouse, our team offer configuration services to pre-build solutions before testing and shipping the final offering in a state that’s ready to go.
Proof-of-Concept Demonstrations
The CMS Solutions Team work closely with selected vendors to provide proof-of-concept services, either on-site or in-lab depending on circumstance. By booking an appointment with the team, your end-user can gain access to a bespoke demonstration, which includes the opportunity to ask questions to make sure that the features of the solution truly meet their needs.
Post-Sales Technical Services
CMS offer a range of post-sales services, including handling RMA for our vendors and troubleshooting any end-user issues. We are the first port of call to offer support, and if we can’t resolve the issue on our own, we will work closely with the vendor on your behalf to escalate. For certain vendors, we even offer 4-hour on-site response times for issues. Contact us using the form below to find out more.
Technical Accreditation, Education & Enablement
Every member of the CMS Solutions Team is accredited to the relevant level for all vendors that we offer technical services on. Educated to the highest possible level, the team also offer internal training to our salespeople via our Solutions Academy. By skilling themselves up and learning more about the products that they sell, our people can act as trusted advisors to customers, offering advice of the best solution to meet their needs.
We also offer external training to resellers, through the format of hosted education sessions, roundtables, and technical seminars. We’re there every step of the way to support with both the learning and exam process – you’re in very capable hands with our team!
Contact us to find out more about any of our Technical Services:
Technical Product Compliance
Through our technical product compliance services, CMS provide complete assurance to our customers of the quality, compliance, and safety of consumer products across their supply chains. We provide an expert perspective and understanding that is in tune with your expectations, and we have first-hand experience in the regulatory frameworks of the market in which you operate.
Warehouse Inspection
Across mainland China, Hong Kong, and additional APAC countries (subject to surcharge), our team can carry out warehouse inspections, validating your product and ensuring that consignment inventory is complete prior to shipment. We can also assist you where discrepancies have arisen in physical inventories across your supply chain.
Product Compliance Review
As an importer, you are legally responsible for the products that you place on the market. Our experts can perform a complete desktop review to ensure that your technical file is authentic, complete and matches your product, comparing test reports with samples of product taken from first production and providing you with the assurance that you have performed the required due diligence.
Pre-Shipment Inspection
We provide a full pre-shipment inspection service, verifying mass production matches with approved samples, and confirming that packaging is compliant and adheres to your brand style guidelines. Inspections are available across mainland China, Hong Kong, and additional APAC countries (subject to surcharge).
Additional services - such as validation of product condition and rework activities - are also available and fully customisable to meet your needs.
Product Refurbishment and Resale Services
CMS offer a full and complete refurbishment program to our vendors, utilising the skills of our fully qualified technicians to refresh returned products. Our engineers evaluate and test products to ensure that they are fully working and properly packaged, ready to be sold on the open market. All products are completely safety checked before sale.
We have found this service to be incredibly valuable to vendors who don’t have locally based warranty and service centres or have limited resource in Europe. Often returns can be a huge expense and we work with our customers and vendors to ensure this is minimised whether possible – however, they are an unavoidable part of doing business in the CE market and CMS pride ourselves on ensuring that the best possible value is retained.
Marketing
Our mission is to deliver business-changing marketing services that enable our vendors to thrive. We help ambitious brands to stand-out, grow and forge meaningful connections.
Channel Marketing Services
Our marketing team has a diverse range of marketing expertise. We offer everything your business needs to drive brand and sales growth:
- Digital Experts
- Channel Marketing Managers
- Brand & Communications Specialists
- CRM Specialists
- Creative Agencies & Specialists
- Dedicated Product Managers
By working with the CMS marketing team, vendors can access:
- 15K marketing contacts
- 14.5K social followers/li>
- 100+ vendor community
- A free marketing service for all new vendors joining the CMS Distribution community
A brand supported by CMS marketing services typically sees a 25%+ average YoY sales growth.
Ready to super-charge your brand?
Arrange a free 30-minute discovery session to find out more about our marketing services. Our team will create a bespoke proposal based on the business goals you have identified. Register your interest via the contact form below.
Digital Marketing Services
Our digital marketing service means getting the right content to the right contacts at the right time with HubSpot CRM.
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot is a Marketing, Sales and Service platform that has been built around a CRM focal point. The CMS marketing team are all HubSpot Marketing Software Certified.
How does HubSpot support our Vendors?
HubSpot gives our team full visibility of how customers are interacting with our digital activities. Real-time data and analytics enable us to report success, identify commercial opportunities and drive meaningful conversations.
Direct Drop Retail Services
Direct Drop allows customers to sell products online, using CMS Distribution to hold your inventory and ship your orders. Business owners can focus on branding, marketing, and customer management, while CMS handles the logistics.
CMS can offer:
- Fully integrated EDI/API solutions
- Stock feeds
- Electronic ordering
- Completion stage notifications:
- Receipt of order
- Order moving to picking
- Despatch confirmation
- Electronic order tracking
- Text/Email tracking confirmations
- Bespoke delivery paperwork
- Electronic invoicing
To find out more about our Direct Drop Retail Services, contact us:
Amazon Marketing Services
CMS offer specialist Amazon sales and marketing services for a wide range of technology products.
ASIN Setup
When product listings are created and regularly updated with SEO in mind, they are given the best possible chance to score highly for Amazon’s A9 algorithm and appear on the first page for a relevant customer search. The CMS team can help you to keep your offering fresh and relevant.
Content Creation
Our experienced Amazon content team use a data driven approach to analyse, regularly monitor, and update your listings. The team carry out regular reporting on organic search term and category best seller rankings to make sure that all content is effectively optimised.
A+
Team CMS can work on your behalf to create engaging A+ product page content. We ensure that all content is created adhering to your brand guidelines, using only approved images and copy to represent your brand at its best on Amazon.
Amazon A+ pages allow you to provide your customers with richer, more detailed information to promote your products. This can help to increase conversions by 3-10%, retain customer interest, educate shoppers about model variations and features, and promote brand awareness.
Brand Stores
A first-class in-store experience is key for brands to drive shopper loyalty and increase sales. Stores provide an elevated shopping experience on Amazon centred around your brand, products, and value proposition. Whilst shoppers are in your store they are not driven away by advertisements or competing products.
CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale
The rising importance of agility for businesses is driving the shift to the cloud and this has only been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Digital transformation delivers new opportunities for the channel. The combination of recurring cloud service revenue, ongoing management services revenue and tangible contribution to customer business success makes digital transformation a compelling opportunity for channel businesses.
CMS Cloud provides a rapid and risk free route to helping your customer on their digital transformation journey.
Why CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale?
CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale delivers a portfolio of cloud solutions designed for the Channel.
Delivered by CMS, controlled and managed by you, under your brand, CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale enables organisations to compete with the Hyperscalers with their own products whilst retaining full commercial and contractual control.
Removing the capital investment, complexity, and resource commitment required to launch a cloud. CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale can have your services up, running and ready for deployment in days.
- Broaden your portfolio and give you and your customers a true alternative
- Retain the personal relationship and deliver the service your customers have come to rely on
- Be in control of the commercial relationship
- Increase your brand reach with your own branded cloud
- Increase value add with wraparound services
- Increase customer retention and protect from the competition
- Protect your IP
- Increase sales with new revenue streams
- Predictable monthly recurring revenue
CMS Cloud Powered by Flexiscale Products
Preconfigured Virtual Appliances – Tested, configured and ready to deploy
Hosted Desktop – Enable the transition to Hybrid and Remote Working
Private and Hybrid cloud
IaaS - Migrate your customers from on premise to your own branded Cloud
DRaaS - Provide a proven performant environment for failover in case of disaster
Supply Chain & Logistics Services
CMS Distribution’s supply chain and logistics services involve the sourcing, processing, and delivery of goods to the end customer, supported by a centralised operation with the ability to efficiently move and store products throughout the UK, EMEA, America and JAPAC.
CMS have strategically placed Distribution Centres in HK, US, China, Holland, UK, and Ireland along with highly experienced personnel supporting our business in these regions.
We work with a wide variety of International Freight Carriers / partners that can efficiently distribute the latest products to our partners within and outside these regions by Sea, Air, and land.
CMS also offer many VAS (Value Add services) within these regions from regional compliance to rework facilities for brands who need extra support to launch in oversea territories.
We have Experienced personnel on the ground who can help make any international product launch a success.
Direct Drop
CMS have the ability to offer retailers a drop-shipping service. Instead of needing to store products themselves, they can sell via a drop-shipping model by purchasing through the CMS team, who will in turn ship direct to the customer. Benefits of this process include:
- Our partners don’t have to worry about holding large volumes of stock or inventory.
- Orders are packed by CMS and shipped in line with agreed delivery SLA’s.
- Orders are tracked throughout the delivery process.
- Returns are processed and handled within CMS.
Stock Management
Here at CMS, we use a warehouse management system to control the inbound, put-away and storage, pick and pack, and despatch processes within our warehousing operation.
All stock inventory is managed by our own stock management inventory team to ensure that the stock file is accurate at all times.
The warehouse management system offers the latest technology and allows our team to track goods as they move through the warehousing process, including serial number capture, quantity and date and time stamps.
Logistics Planning
The CMS logistics planning team ensure that all inbound and outbound deliveries are planned, controlled, accurately scheduled, and confirmed in line with customer requirements.
The logistics planning team also manage transport service providers throughout the UK, EMEA, America, JAPAC, and expanding territories, acting as the interface between vendors, customers, transport service providers, warehouse operations in multiple countries, and commercial teams.
Forecasting & Planning
With over 50 years’ experience in both Distribution and Retail the Forecast and Planning Team offer services internally and externally to Sales Departments, Vendors and Customers. The main function of the department is to ensure that stock is in the right place at the right time to maximise sales and minimize risk and costs for our Partners.
The team work closely with Partners to provide forecasts, from 1-6 months which help to ensure that production, supply, and stock availability is in line with customer demand. We also ensure that in times of allocation product is distributed across customers to maximise serviceability and sales thereby enhancing Vendor and Customer relationships.
Finance & Credit Services
CMS’ finance solutions are designed to offer partners flexible and convenient ways to purchase. From credit accounts, to utilising financing options, we have a variety of options available to help you transact in the best way to suit you.
Credit Maximiser
The CMS Credit Maximiser is a simple and effective financial solution that offers you the opportunity to build a solid trade history and credit-line.
Simply by ensuring payments are received on time, your credit-line can be increased month-by-month by 25% and, within a short-time period, it can grow to a maximum credit-line of £100,000 providing the credit-line is maximised.
Maximising your credit-line allows you to transact a greater volume of business, and thereby enables you to maximise your revenue and profit potential.
Financing
Financing via a lease allows your end-user to spread the cost of their IT purchases over 1, 2, 3 years, or possibly longer depending on circumstance. This solution offers your customer greater cash-flow flexibility, as well as potential benefits under Capital Expenditure accounting.
For you, the reseller, this option can accelerate your own cash-flow and increase potential revenue gains. It helps you to increase your business, get paid quicker, and reduce any credit risk or bad debt.
Together with our financial partners, CMS will work closely with you to find the right solution for your end-user.
Credit Limits
Credit limits enable you to make purchases without the need for pre-payment, maximising your selling opportunities. Credit limits are integral to the global commercial world, and CMS will work collaboratively with you to assign one to best meet your needs.
Please not that credit limits will not be unreasonably denied but are subject to at least an annual review and credit checks.
Contact us to find out more about our Finance & Credit services:
Barracuda Professional Services
If you have purchased a Barracuda solution from CMS Distribution, you can now avail of Barracuda Professional Services to aid in the installation and configuration of your solution.
The Barracuda Professional Services offering allows you to extend installation of the Barracuda portfolio to your customers, allowing for easy implementation of the products to ensure they get up and running as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
The package includes a Barracuda Certified Sales Engineer who provides remote install services to ensure the customer gets the solution installed correctly and is up and running as quickly and as cleanly as possible. The package also includes:
• A scoping call
• Installation
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Final handover and sign-off
A Health Check service is also available. The Health Check service can be offered to existing customers who have purchased Barracuda products, to ensure they are utilising the solutions to the best of their ability. This session covers:
• Review of the current health status of the solution
• Best practices for management to best utilise the resource
• Recommendations and escalation of any issues
Barracuda Professional Services
If you have purchased a Barracuda solution from CMS Distribution, you can now avail of Barracuda Professional Services to aid in the installation and configuration of your solution.
The Barracuda Professional Services offering allows you to extend installation of the Barracuda portfolio to your customers, allowing for easy implementation of the products to ensure they get up and running as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
The package includes a Barracuda Certified Sales Engineer who provides remote install services to ensure the customer gets the solution installed correctly and is up and running as quickly and as cleanly as possible. The package also includes:
• A scoping call
• Installation
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Final handover and sign-off
A Health Check service is also available. The Health Check service can be offered to existing customers who have purchased Barracuda products, to ensure they are utilising the solutions to the best of their ability. This session covers:
• Review of the current health status of the solution
• Best practices for management to best utilise the resource
• Recommendations and escalation of any issues
Branding Services
We take pride in offering a customised service designed for resellers who want to co-brand premium retail products. We understand that branding is one of the most crucial aspects of any business. That's why we have developed a service that allows resellers to align their brand with top-quality products from well-known retailers. Resellers can differentiate themselves from their competitors and leverage the reputation and recognition of established retail brands.
