A European manufacturing company specializing in high-quality industrial tools sought to expand into East Africa. Despite strong product demand in the region, the company struggled to identify a reliable distributor capable of reaching the right end-users, providing after-sales support, and building long-term market presence.

Within 90 days, SCA-Partner helped the company:

• Validate the market opportunity
• Identify and evaluate potential distributors
• Negotiate a distribution agreement
• Launch the first shipments and secure early customer orders

The Challenge

The company had previously attempted to enter Africa through:

• Online inquiries
• Trade fair contacts
• Email outreach campaigns

However:

• Many leads lacked financial or operational capacity.
• Some pushed aggressively for immediate exclusivity.
• Others had no technical sales force or after-sales service capability.
• The company feared selecting the wrong partner and blocking the market.

They needed a partner who could:

1. Serve industrial clients (construction, manufacturing, automotive)
2. Maintain stock and spare parts
3. Deploy technical sales representatives
4. Invest in promoting the brand locally

Our Approach

1. Market & Competitor Mapping

We conducted a focused market scan to understand:

• Regional demand drivers
• Key buying industries
• Existing brand preferences
• Pricing and channel margins

Result: Verified strong growth potential in Kenya and Uganda for premium-grade tools.

2. Distributor Identification & Shortlisting

We filtered 27 companies down to 6 based on:

• Portfolio relevance
• Sales network strength
• Financial capacity
• Reputation and reliability

We then conducted discreet reputation checks through:

• Local chambers of commerce
• Industry associations
• Existing supplier references

3. Partner Interviews & Capability Assessment

We coordinated structured meetings with shortlisted distributors and evaluated their:

• Sales team structure and territory coverage
• Warehouse and logistics capabilities
• Commitment to brand promotion
• Willingness to meet performance targets

Two distributors emerged as strong candidates.

4. Negotiation & Agreement Structuring

We facilitated negotiation of:

• Pricing and margins
• Sales targets
• Marketing responsibilities
• Stocking requirements
• Performance review timeline (first review in 6 months)

No exclusivity was granted upfront—exclusivity would be earned based on performance.

The Result

Within 8 weeks of agreement signing:

• The distributor placed an initial stocking order.
• Sales reps were trained through SCA-Partner-led workshops.
• Demonstration tools were deployed to key customer sites.
• The distributor secured three new industrial clients and began quoting in major tenders.

By month 9:

• Sales exceeded the initial target by 132%.
• The distributor expanded to cover two additional regions.
• The brand achieved recognized presence in key industrial clusters.

Exclusivity was then granted based on proven results.