James Eldridge III
Independent business consulting, drawn from four decades in technology distribution and sales.
Background
I spent my career in the channel — the distributors and resellers that sit between technology manufacturers and the organizations that buy from them. I started in operations at a $20 million accessories distributor and finished in field sales for a global distributor north of $50 billion, with stops at most of the sizes in between.
The work changed shape many times. I ran purchasing and distribution for a several-hundred-million-dollar software reseller, built a software business unit from nothing at a $5 billion distributor, and spent my last decade as a security solutions specialist carrying a quota against national and regional accounts across the United States and Canada. What held steady was the part that actually decides outcomes: understanding a client's business well enough to be useful to them, and staying in the relationship long after the order was booked.
I am retired from full-time work and take on selected consulting engagements.
Practice
Channel and distribution sales
Selling through resellers and VARs rather than around them: account development, quota discipline, and the follow-through that turns a forecast into revenue.
Vendor programs and licensing
Volume licensing, contract and rebate negotiation, market development funds, and the terms that quietly determine whether a product line earns its place.
Business unit start-up
Standing up a new line of business — vendor acquisition, hiring, product marketing, and the launch plan behind it.
Operations and process
Purchasing, inventory, and distribution: consolidating scattered functions into one operation that turns over reliably.
Career
- 2010–2020 Business Development Executive, Security Solutions National and US & Canada regional accounts — $25 billion distributor, later acquired at $50+ billion
- 2005–2010 Business Development Manager, National Accounts Enterprise storage and infrastructure — $5 billion distributor
- 2000–2003 Director, Software Products & Business Development, Americas New business unit built from start-up — $5 billion distributor
- 1994–2000 Vice President, Purchasing and Distribution Software and hardware reseller — several hundred million in annual sales
- 1978–1994 Vice President, Operations Computer and electronics accessories distributor — $20 million in annual sales