Ingram Micro continued its evolution into a “platform-driven business” in 2024, its CEO claimed in its Annual Report to Security Holders.
Published yesterday, the report saw Paul Bay reflect on the broadliner’s position in a distribution sector that is being shaken up by marketplaces and new models.
Last month, marketplace upstart Pax8 launched a stinging attack on Ingram and fellow distribution heavyweight TD Synnex, accusing them in a full-page New York Times advert of “selling the past”.
Ingram name-checked Pax8 as one of 15 competitors in the report, alongside TD Synnex, Arrow, Scanscource, Westcon-Comstor, Synnex Technology, Anixter, ALSO, Esprinet, Redington, Exclusive Networks, Intcomex, D&H, Carahsoft and AppDirect.
But Ingram – which returned to public ownership in October when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange – is itself becoming a platform company, Bay claimed.
Ingram is “redefining how technology is bought, sold and managed” via its XVantage platform, which has now been expanded in 18 countries, he asserted.
“Beyond our return to the public markets, we also continued evolving into a platform-driven business, leveraging our global scale, deep technical expertise, and industry-first digital solutions to redefine how technology is bought, sold, and consumed,” Bay said.
“Through frictionless quoting, automated workflows, and real-time analytics, to name only a few of its capabilities, Xvantage has proven to be a game-changer in how technology is consumed in today’s market.”
Apple turnover
Hardware OEMs Apple and HP remain Ingram’s two largest vendors, with the former seeing its share of net sales rise to 19% in 2024, up from 16% in 2023 and 15% in 2022, and the latter generating 10% of the total across all three years.
Ingram highlighted AMD, Cisco, Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Super Micro as among its other key vendor allies.
International growth was a hallmark of Ingram’s spell under private ownership, with net sales from outside North America rising from 58% to 64% of the total during the period, Bay stressed.
It remains smaller than arch-rival TD Synnex in EMEA, however, with net sales from this side of the Atlantic slipping from $14.5bn to $14.3bn in 2024 (compared with TD Synnex’s $19.6bn European haul in its latest year).
Despite seeing total 2024 net sales dip 0.1% to $48bn, Ingram returned to growth in the final quarter of the year, Bay stressed.
Boasting 23,500 staff, it now operates in 57 countries and serves more than 161,000 customers and 1,500 vendor partners, Bay emphasised.
Although Ingram’s share price has fallen by around a third since its IPO, Bay signed off on a positive note.
“The best is yet to come,” he ventured.
