With true two-way trust, companies can do great things together. Here’s how Westcon-Comstor, a global IT solutions distributor, achieved remarkable growth with the support of Allianz Trade.
Westcon-Comstor is a leading global technology solution provider and specialist distributor. The company works with leading vendors to bring solutions to market through a channel of reseller partners. With over 40 years’ experience, Westcon-Comstor combines industry insight and technical expertise to be the catalyst for both vendor and partner success.
Here’s Pete Whitmore, VP EMEA, Credit, Vendor & Financial Services, on how partnering with Allianz Trade has been the right choice for Westcon-Comstor.
‘We switched based on what Allianz Trade could provide to us. Not just in terms of the funding and the insured limits, but the all-round model of approach.
Normally when you switch, it takes two or three months to get the policies all set up, to get everything ready to go, and your on-cover letters sorted. With Allianz Trade, we did it in 14 days. The work that our broker Aon and Allianz Trade did with us – the three organizations working together – was nothing short of miraculous. We had all the on-cover, on-risk letters that we needed.’
‘With Allianz Trade, there is more flexibility to the needs of our business. This helps to avoid ‘a computer says no’ sort of situation.
For example, it was very black and white how we support our discretionary limit without appreciating the experience within the risk team. With Allianz Trade, the team came and audited how we work. Based on that, they empowered us to self-support up to a certain level. We’re like an extension of their underwriting function, because they trust us. And likewise, they’re an extension of our funding, because they support where we need the bigger limits. And we’re so comfortable trading with them, because we know them intimately.’
‘We started with insured limits of about 900 million. We’re about up to about 1.9 billion now. That has helped us to grow. Coming from our previous insurer, suddenly having a partner prepared to support us as we grew was a real positive. Knowing you have some cover in place gives you some assurance that you’re going in the right direction. We had a three-year plan – that’s already being accelerated because we’ve gone beyond where we were expecting to get to.’
‘We have face-to-face meetings two or three times a year. They are invaluable. Not only do we talk about our limit requirements – we’ll also talk about Allianz Trade’s performance, Westcon’s performance, and the general economic climate. And then, specifically, we’ll talk about distribution in terms of what we do.’
‘We’re opening up in different areas of the world – including some areas that are difficult to get insurance in. The thing I love is that we’ve come up with a few ways of being able to support our resellers to support their customers. And at face value, you think, well, how can I get that insured? But working with the teams at Allianz Trade and Aon, we found the right approach, the right agreements, and the right endorsements. That gives me the comfort to take steps into those markets.’
Ready to unlock next-level business growth, backed by trusted support? Get a quick, no-obligation premium estimate here:
From our experts to your inbox
– never miss a thing
Receive our latest economic and insolvencies updates from our experts.
Follow us
You might also be interested in…
5 tips for turning 2024’s trade challenges into export success
Despite the stream of challenges to global trade, UK exporters are not alone in having high hopes for international growth – assuming they can mitigate the many risk factors.
How companies can overcome export challenges, avoid unnecessary risks, and trade with greater confidence.
We give you a quick round-the-world overview of the differences to collect unpaid trade receivables.
Let's talk...
For a free credit insurance consultation call our UK team, 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri.
Our expertise and commitment
Allianz Trade is the global leader in trade credit insurance and credit management, offering tailored solutions to mitigate the risks associated with bad debt, thereby ensuring the financial stability of businesses. Our products and services help companies with risk management, cash flow management, accounts receivables protection, Surety bonds, Business Fraud Insurance, debt collection processes and e-commerce credit insurance ensuring the financial resilience for our client’s businesses. Our expertise in risk mitigation and finance positions us as trusted advisors, enabling businesses aspiring for global success to expand into international markets with confidence.
Our business is built on supporting relationships between people and organisations, relationships that extend across frontiers of all kinds - geographical, financial, industrial, and more. We’re constantly aware that our work has an impact on the communities we serve and that we have a duty to help and support others. At Allianz Trade, we’re strongly committed to fairness for all without discrimination, among our own people and in our many relationships with those outside our business.