I missed my chance today to save a young teenager from making a regretful decision.  A boy in China sold his kidney in order to buy an iPad. I’ve been researching how companies can lower their tablet investments and source tablets more effectively. The report will be published shortly, but sadly not in time to give me a shot at preventing him from this reckless act. As you can see, all of this excitement surrounding tablets is enabling people to make ill-fated decisions with damaging consequences. In fact, several of my sourcing and vendor management clients tell me stories of their executives pushing through tablet purchases without really thinking through whether they’re getting the best price or service.

Though this teenager bought his, presumably, through a consumer sales channel, large enterprises have other options, such as working with VARs. In my research I found that OEMs reward successful VARs with rebates and incentives for hitting specific PC and tablet sales quotas. Even Apple Channel Managers target specific strategic accounts in key industries and create special programs for VARs to help accelerate OS adoption, all in an effort to strengthen Apple’s tenuous grip in the tablet business market.  In my paper, I go into more detail about the advantages of the channel and present other sourcing alternatives.

Your situation may not be as tragic.  However, you need to ensure that you help you steer corporate leaders away from getting lost in the excitement of this emerging trend, focus on the bottom line, and avoid a bleak prognosis. In my report I’ll share some insights I’ve learned from other SVM professionals, but I’d also love to hear any stories you have about having done an enterprise deal for tablets. 

Assuming you didn’t have to give up body parts, what did you do to get a good deal?