Computer Reseller News was contacted by a number of Compaq partners who said that the vendor has been slow to give rebates, causing inevitable cashflow problems for the channel. The SPA is a long-running scheme introduced by Compaq last year whereby a reseller receives a rebate on the price paid to a distributor to guarantee a large sale. My reward for winning a contract is to carry debt for as long as it takes Compaq to sort it out. Another source also questioned why Compaq did not simply reduce its prices universally. Mike Morgan, channel sales director at Compaq, declined to comment on individual cases, but acknowledged the need to speed up the company's payment system in general.
Rebates have to go through a validation process which can vary in time to complete.
Alex Tatham, commercial director at distributor Ideal Hardware, said he had known resellers that had been forced to wait up to four months for their rebates. Compaq tries to give resellers a special price to win large deals, but from an administrative viewpoint it is a nightmare.