(Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this, please pass this along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, email me at amtower@erols.com). Past issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: VAR Wars
3) SmartPay: FY 2003 TOTALS!
4) One Minute Marketing Clinic
5) Upcoming Events

Amtower Off-Center Observations

After the last issue hitting the moral high ground in the Marketing Clinic, the business news in the Washington Post the next day had two more companies in hot water for financial misconduct, inlcuding the venerable Morgan Stanley. I am not trying to be your preacher, priest or rabbi here, but come on folks. There are some things that should be clear to anyone, and cheating in any form is one of them.

The feedback from our Chicago Summit has been great - thanks again to all who attended. This will be an annual event, but unlike Government Marketing Best Practices, it is only once each year. Government Marketing Best Practices will be back on the road by April, dates to be announced soon.

And speaking of Best Practices, I announced Friday that the Oct 21, 2003 session is now available as an audio CD or cassette, and it comes with the workbook. Sales started over the weekend so we are already ordering more. If you would like a copy, or four, for your in-house library, new hire training material, or to listen to me during drive time (and who would not want to hear me while stuck in traffic?), go to www.FederalDirect.net. In the Offer Code box put SUB so you get the subscriber discount ($99 instead of $125). There are no up charges, as we pay shipping.

And now for the good stuff.


THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: VAR WARS

In the first issue of the Amtower B2G Market Report (8/19/02), I discussed the state of the Reseller wars in Battle of the PC Catalogs. I discussed the personnel changes at Insight, Comark, MicroWarehouse, PC Mall, CDWG, GTSI and PC Connection/GovConnection.

Well the landscape continues to change. GovConnection has lost its GSA Schedule "following a review of GovConnection's contract management systems and procedures that may have resulted in the sale of unqualified items or the underpayment of required fees. GovConnection, formerly known as ComTeq Federal, was acquired by PC Connection in 1999." This is significant news.

Insight is still in some sort of limbo when it comes to the government market, seemingly unable to hire anyone who knows this market well. And there are a few good people available. Anyone listening out there in Arizona?

MicroWarehouse (the sound and the fury) was bought by CDW. GTSI remains GTSI.. And Alan Bechara is still at PC Mall.

And the non-PC Connection people are probably hitting the phones raiding GovConnections best vendor partners and the bigger accounts where they may have lost deals.

The winners? Who knows, but it looks like a two horse race, with GTSI still the one to beat, and CDWG establishing a much bigger presence by adding more experienced personnel.

On the purely product side of the equation, CDWG should win. They have a good small business partner program in place. They are a natural cataloger, shipping quickly, with high order accuracy, in a competitive price range. And their warehouse operation is extraordinary.

GTSI continues to compete with a broad array of contracts, and is seeking to offer more services. So the business models may not be the same. But CDWG and GTSI are perceived to be in the same space. And they both have to compete with the larger contractors with broad GWACs (government-wide acquisition contracts).

We will probably see the gap widen between GSTI, CDWG and the rest of the field. And we will probably see the gap narrow between CDWG and GTSI.

With the bluster of MicroWarehouse gone, FOSE may be dull this year, but the survivors will still be there looking to grab any marketshare left vacant by GovConnection.

Not that I have an opinion..


SmartPay FY 2003 Totals AT LAST!

2003 Totals:
Total spent on small purchase SmartPay: $16,370,886,268.97
Total number of transactions: 26,494,400
Total number of cardholders as of 9/30/03: 326,850

2002 Totals
Total spent on small purchase SmartPay: $15,247,501,991.12
Total number of transactions: 25,752,314
Total number of cardholders: 392,576

Growth: $1.1 billion over FY 2002, over 700,000 more transactions, with 65,000 fewer cardholders.

Call me at 301-924-0058 for information on SmartPay snail mail list rental or licensing.

ONE-MINUTE MARKETING CLINIC: READING MATERIAL

Staying current is a full time occupation.

My weekly e-reading is an important part of keeping up with the government marketing. I receive the e-news from both Federal Computer Week and Government Computer News. I also visit WashingtonTechnology.com every day. I also read the magazines of each when they arrive, along with Government Executive.

Aside from that I read Richard Mackey's weekly wrap-up from www.CapitalReps.com every Friday.

I also read The WordBiz Report from Debbie Weil at www.wordbiz.com. This is a great newsletter on writing e-newlstters.

Steve Charles occasional newsletters from the Immix Group are also quite good. www.immix.com

I also read DM News, a direct marketing trade publication. www.dmnews.com; and Business Week (hardcopy and online).

And recently I added Homeland Security Strategies from www.PublicSectorInstitute.com, and Government Security News.

Send me your ideas and reading lists.


Upcoming Events

Federal Channels, 2004: San Diego, CA. January 14: The Horton Grand Hotel
www.fbcinc.com/federalchannels/default.asp
ALWAYS CUTTING EDGE INFORMATION AND GREAT NETWORKING.

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