ALSO – global leader on bloomberg.com
In the series “50 global leaders” ALSO is featured as industry leader in the cloud and IoT business. Watch the video which will be published on bloomberg.com.
1.
ALSO fuels one of the key markets of the future
The digital transformation is continuing at an ever-increasing pace and across all industries. Hybrid solutions for working and computing are becoming the norm, covering the whole range from on premise options to Everything as a service.
ALSO is covering all IT needs with its three business models Supply, Solutions and Service. Supply contains the transactional range of hardware and software. Solutions division supports customers in the development of customized IT solutions and ready to sell IoT applications. Subscription-based cloud offerings as well as platforms for cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Streaming are the focus of the Service area, offering immense potential for growth.
Worldwide ICT Spending 2018–2023 ($ Million, Constant Currency)
2.
ALSO's ecosystem ensures access to the key vendors and the broad reseller base of this market
Our ecosystem comprises more than 700 vendors of hardware, software, and IT services as well as more than 110,000 resellers. ALSO has a clear value proposition as a B2B platform enabling its customers to focus on their respective strengths. The route to market can be either transactional (buying) or consumptional (consumption-based billing), via our e-commerce shop or the ALSO Cloud Marketplace.
We are constantly evolving the ecosystem. On the vendor side this means expanding market coverage with existing vendors as well as onboarding new ones. On the customer side we are strengthening our strong existing customer relations by offering established IT companies customized support in expanding their services in new areas like IoT or AI. In parallel, we are building up business with new customer groups, such as companies with digital or cloud-based business models. The focus is on the many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the industry.
The ALSO Ecosystem
3.
ALSO’s business strategy for sustainable, profitable growth: MORE
Our business strategy MORE defines four key activities:
Maintain and strengthen the existing business
We are successfully claiming our position in markets where we are in a leading position, while expanding and evolving our ecosystem.
Optimize all processes and mesh the three business models
We are constantly optimizing our business models and processes with the help of 5 levers: the composition and interaction of vendors, buyers, product categories and business models and the further development of our operational excellence based on our digital management tools.
Reinvent new lines of business
On the basis of continuing to successfully grow our transactional business model, we are significantly increasing the share of net sales generated with solutions- and service-oriented business models.
Enhance market shares and technological competences
We are strengthening our market coverage as well as our business models through acquisitions. ALSO has a proven track record of 21 successful integrations over the last ten years.
Responsible corporate management means growing sustainably and profitably, acting ethically, all of it with the purpose of improving the quality of life of everybody through technology. We are pursuing these values with our sustainability strategy LESS.
LESS – ALSO’s ESG strategy
Lower CO2 emissions by measures such as lowering energy consumption and heating costs, using energy from renewable sources and further improving our waste management.
Enhance our sustainability reporting. The goal is to provide our stakeholders with a consistent and transparent reporting from all of our companies. Based on our materialities and following our monitoring and reporting matrix, which draws on the framework expected by GRI, we are developing an automated and comprehensive reporting system.
Secure the data of our customers as well as our own by constantly improving our cybersecurity portfolio. Secure also refers to securing our own business regarding risk management and compliance in the interests of sustainable corporate development and security for employees and customers.
Sustain the skills and knowledge about the use of digital technologies available to civil society, especially to children and teens. To this end, we get involved in local initiatives as well as starting our own educational program.
5.
ALSO’s proven track record by successful management
Our focus is on a sustainably successful development of the company. Profitability and sustainable growth have been constantly improved over the last ten years. At the same time, we have been transforming the company and optimizing its capital structure.
Development of EBITA and ROCE 2016–2020
3S - our business models
Net sales in the traditional Supply
business model include wholesale business with equipment and software for the IT, consumer electronics, and telecommunication sectors. Marketing is mostly transactional, i.e. it takes place through the purchase or sale of products and supplementary services, mostly through our webshop.
In the Solutions business model, ALSO provides project-based support in particular to resellers, mostly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), on questions of IT architecture and design, rapidly translates requirements into specific configurations, and monitors the status of projects. On top of this, we offer solutions coming from applications in new platforms like the Internet of Things, Cybersecurity or Virtualization.
In the Service area, ALSO acts as a service provider for logistics, sales, and IT services. IT services comprise the “as-a-Service” sales of all technological components that a digital workstation (unique user) requires. All software components are used via the cloud. In addition, services such as financing, maintenance, dimensioning, and replacement are provided for their use. The central hub is the ALSO Cloud Marketplace.
The platform is also offered to partners outside the countries where ALSO operates, and includes platform-as-a-service business.
