ALSO Holding Business Model Canvas

Efficient logistics are crucial for ALSO's role as a technology provider, enabling the smooth distribution of hardware and other physical goods. In 2024, ALSO continued to rely on strong partnerships with logistics firms to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery across its extensive European network, spanning 31 countries, and also to global PaaS partners.

These collaborations are vital for optimizing inventory management and streamlining delivery processes, directly impacting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. For instance, by leveraging specialized logistics providers, ALSO can better manage the complexities of cross-border shipping and warehousing, ensuring products reach their destinations promptly.

Key partnerships for ALSO Holding are multifaceted, spanning technology vendors, IT resellers, logistics providers, and financial institutions. These collaborations are critical for delivering a broad product portfolio, enabling efficient distribution, and providing essential financial services to its ecosystem.

In 2024, ALSO continued to strengthen its vendor relationships, working with over 800 technology vendors to ensure access to the latest ICT hardware and software. Simultaneously, the company relied on strategic alliances with financial institutions to offer flexible financing and credit management to its approximately 120,000 IT resellers, fostering smoother transactions and ecosystem growth.

Strategic acquisitions, such as the integration of Westcoast, SWS, and Entec, further expanded ALSO's market reach and technological capabilities, particularly in key European markets, underscoring a commitment to growth through digital platforms and AI.

ALSO Holding actively provides a suite of financial services, including credit facilities, diverse financing solutions, and efficient payment processing. These offerings are designed to directly support their extensive network of partners, from resellers to vendors.

These financial services are crucial for optimizing cash flow management for their partners, thereby mitigating financial risks and simultaneously opening doors to wider market penetration. This is a core element of ALSO's overarching 'as-a-service' model and its commitment to fostering a robust ecosystem.

In 2024, the demand for flexible financing in the IT and electronics sectors remained high, with companies like ALSO playing a key role in facilitating transactions and managing financial flows. For instance, the IT market in Europe alone was projected to reach over €700 billion in 2024, highlighting the significant volume of business that benefits from integrated financial services.

Key activities for ALSO Holding revolve around managing and enhancing its digital platforms, most notably its B2B marketplace. This includes facilitating transactions for hardware, software, and IT services by connecting vendors with a vast reseller network.

Logistics and supply chain management are also critical, ensuring efficient product movement and inventory control across Europe. Furthermore, ALSO provides essential financial services, such as credit and financing, to support its partners and optimize cash flow within the ecosystem.

The company actively develops and delivers a wide range of IT services and solutions, focusing on high-growth areas like cloud, cybersecurity, and AI, thereby enabling partner success in these expanding markets.

ALSO Holding also focuses on growing its ICT ecosystem through technology integration and geographical expansion, with strategic acquisitions playing a key role in strengthening its market position and service offerings.

Financial capital, encompassing substantial cash reserves and robust access to credit lines, forms a cornerstone of ALSO Holding's business model. This financial strength is critical for managing its extensive operations and supporting its partner ecosystem.

In 2024, a strong financial position enables ALSO to offer vital financial services to its partners, facilitating their growth and operational efficiency. This includes managing working capital and providing flexible financing solutions.

Furthermore, ample financial capital is instrumental in funding strategic acquisitions and investments, allowing ALSO to expand its market reach and enhance its service portfolio. This proactive approach ensures continued investment in growth and long-term stability for the company.

The key resources for ALSO Holding are its digital platforms, extensive logistics, strong financial capital, skilled workforce, and deep vendor and reseller relationships. These elements collectively enable the company to operate efficiently, scale its business, and provide value-added services within the ICT sector.

ALSO empowers its partners by granting access to advanced technologies and digital platforms. This includes cutting-edge areas such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, robust cybersecurity solutions, and virtualization technologies.

Through its comprehensive digital platforms and flexible subscription-based cloud offerings, ALSO ensures resellers can readily offer innovative solutions. This strategic advantage allows them to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market without the significant burden of building and maintaining their own infrastructure.

For instance, in 2024, ALSO reported a significant increase in the adoption of its cloud-based services, demonstrating the growing demand for accessible advanced technologies among its reseller network. This trend is expected to continue as digital transformation accelerates across industries.

ALSO Holding's value proposition centers on being a comprehensive, one-stop shop for ICT resellers, offering an extensive portfolio of over 800 vendors and 1,570 product categories. This simplifies procurement and allows partners to expand their offerings. The company's digital platforms, logistics, and financial services boost operational efficiency, freeing up resellers to focus on core business. Furthermore, ALSO provides access to advanced technologies like AI and IoT, enabling partners to offer cutting-edge solutions through flexible cloud offerings, thereby ensuring their competitiveness in a dynamic market. Financial flexibility through tailored credit solutions and payment models supports partner growth and stability, with a notable increase in financing program utilization in 2024. Finally, ALSO cultivates a strong ecosystem, offering market access and strategic guidance, evidenced by the onboarding of over 1,500 new partners in 2024, fostering mutual growth and profitability.

For their significant partners and key accounts, ALSO Holding deploys dedicated account management and sales teams. This personalized approach ensures that larger clients receive tailored support and strategic guidance.

These specialized teams work closely with clients, offering advice that helps shape solutions specifically for their unique business requirements. This fosters a more consultative and deeply integrated relationship, moving beyond transactional exchanges.

In 2024, ALSO Holding reported a significant portion of its revenue generated through these strategic partnerships, underscoring the value of their dedicated relationship management. The company's focus on building these consultative ties directly contributes to client retention and growth.

ALSO Holding's customer relationships are primarily managed through digital self-service platforms and a comprehensive online marketplace, allowing resellers to efficiently manage orders and logistics. For key accounts, dedicated account management and sales teams provide personalized, consultative support, fostering deeper, integrated partnerships. In 2024, partner satisfaction scores saw an 8% increase, reflecting the effectiveness of these structured support and engagement models.

While primarily a digital platform, ALSO Holding operates a crucial network of physical distribution and logistics centers across numerous countries. These facilities are the backbone for warehousing, fulfilling, and delivering hardware products, ensuring efficient and reliable supply chain operations for their diverse customer base.

In 2024, ALSO's commitment to robust logistics is evident. The company manages a significant volume of physical goods, requiring strategic placement of these centers to minimize transit times and costs. This physical infrastructure directly supports their ability to offer a comprehensive range of IT hardware, from consumer electronics to enterprise solutions.

The channels through which ALSO Holding interacts with its customers and partners are diverse, reflecting its broad business model. The online B2B marketplace, particularly the ALSO Cloud Marketplace, is a cornerstone, facilitating seamless transactions for hardware, software, and cloud services. Direct sales teams focus on high-value enterprise clients, securing significant deals and driving growth in specialized solutions and services. In 2024, these direct efforts were key to closing major contracts. Crucially, a vast network of resellers acts as the primary conduit to end-users, with indirect sales accounting for over 85% of ALSO's revenue in 2024.

System Integrators (SIs) are a crucial customer segment for ALSO Holding, demanding extensive product portfolios and robust support for intricate project deployments. These partners rely on a broad spectrum of hardware, software, and cloud solutions to deliver end-to-end IT services to their clients.

ALSO addresses these needs by providing a comprehensive catalog of products and solutions, ensuring SIs have access to the tools necessary for complex IT environments. In 2024, the IT services market, which SIs heavily influence, continued its growth trajectory, with global spending projected to reach over $1.3 trillion, highlighting the scale of opportunities for integration partners.

Furthermore, ALSO offers vital professional services, including pre-sales consultation, technical expertise, and project management assistance. These services are instrumental in helping SIs design, implement, and manage large-scale IT landscapes, from initial concept to successful deployment, ensuring client satisfaction and project success.

Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) form a vital customer segment for ALSO Holding. These businesses often lack dedicated IT departments and rely on partners for their technology needs, seeking cost-effective and scalable solutions. ALSO facilitates their digital transformation by providing access to a wide range of IT products and services, from hardware to cloud subscriptions.

The SMB sector is a significant driver of IT spending. In 2024, SMBs continued to invest in digital tools to enhance productivity and competitiveness, with many actively adopting cloud services. For example, the global cloud computing market, a key area for SMB adoption, was projected to exceed $800 billion in 2024, underscoring the demand for cloud-based solutions that ALSO provides.

ALSO’s role is to simplify technology procurement and management for these businesses, offering tailored solutions that meet their specific operational and budgetary requirements. This includes providing support for everything from basic IT infrastructure to more advanced digital services.

ALSO Holding dedicates substantial resources to its IT infrastructure and platform development. In 2024, the company continued to invest heavily in its digital marketplaces, particularly its Cloud Marketplace, and the foundational IT systems that support its operations. These expenditures cover essential areas such as software development, ongoing cloud hosting fees, robust cybersecurity measures to protect data, and the salaries of skilled IT personnel.

The Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) remains a primary expense for ALSO Holding, directly reflecting the volume of hardware, software, and services procured from its numerous suppliers. This cost is a direct consequence of the company's distribution activities, with its efficiency directly impacting profit margins.

Logistics and distribution costs are also substantial, covering warehousing, transportation, and delivery across its operational geographies. These expenses are critical for maintaining the company's rapid delivery capabilities.

Significant investment continues in IT infrastructure and platform development, particularly for its Cloud Marketplace and supporting systems. This includes software development, cloud hosting, cybersecurity, and IT personnel costs.

Personnel and operational overheads are considerable, supporting a workforce exceeding 4,200 employees in 2024. These costs encompass salaries, benefits, and the general administrative expenses required to maintain operations.

Marketing, sales, and partner support activities represent another key cost area, vital for driving revenue and nurturing its reseller network. This includes advertising, sales force commissions, and partner program investments.

ALSO Holding generates significant revenue from IT Services and Solutions Fees. This encompasses a broad range of offerings, including professional services for project implementation, managed services for ongoing IT operations, and expert consulting for intricate technology challenges. These fees are crucial for supporting reseller partners in deploying and integrating complex IT solutions, ensuring smooth operation and client satisfaction.

In 2024, the IT services sector continued to be a robust revenue driver for companies like ALSO Holding. For instance, the global IT services market was projected to reach over $1.3 trillion in 2024, with managed services and cloud consulting showing particularly strong growth. ALSO’s model benefits directly from this trend, capturing fees for the deployment, integration, and essential ongoing support that underpins these reseller projects.

Commissions and value-added services are key revenue drivers within ALSO Holding's B2B marketplace, generated from vendors leveraging the platform for increased market reach and enhanced sales support.

In 2024, the IT distribution sector saw continued reliance on such platform-based revenue. For example, companies operating extensive digital marketplaces often derive a significant percentage of their income from transaction fees, premium listings, and data analytics services offered to vendors.