Extending the spirit of the CARES Act enacted last month by Congress, Stampede, the global leader of value added distribution, today announced the ProAV industry-specific Stampede XtraCare Program to provide employees with much-needed extra protection and resellers with business relief and facilitation tools, as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to enable them to complete projects in a safe and secure way. Complete information about the program can be found at www.stampedeglobal.com/xtracare.
“Commercial AV is an essential infrastructure industry, as defined by the federal government, but the industry is being challenged on every front to remain viable in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Stampede President & CEO Kevin Kelly. “Supported by the strength of our corporate resources, Stampede is making available to employees, resellers and manufacturer partners a comprehensive lifeline that includes SafeXSound Care Packages, a PROAVXchange online marketplace that can turn product into cash and FleXFinancing.
“Taken as a whole, we believe that XtraCare is the most comprehensive health assurance, business relief and facilitation program ever developed for the ProAV industry — and it can’t come at a more critical time,” Kelly said.
XtraCare Begins with the Safety and Health of Employees and Customers
According to Kelly, free SafeXSound Care Packages are now being shipped directly to every Stampede employee. Designed to provide employees with the peace of mind they deserve when returning to work, each package contains 3-ply surgical masks, hand sanitizer, powder-free gloves and the gift of audio, which will include a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. The kits are for personal use only and are not meant to be sold in any other form.
SafeXSound Care Packages are now also being made available to Stampede resellers and manufacturer partners, at cost, for the very same reason because everyone deserves to have restored to them the peace of mind that Covid-19 took from everyone.
For every kit purchased by a partner, Stampede will ship an equal number of care packages to the healthcare community. Information on SafeXSound Care Packages can be found at www.stampedeglobal.com/safexsound.
“In addition, by leveraging our superior global supply-chain we were able to source N95 masks that we are donating to New York State healthcare professionals,” Kelly said. “We are proud to be able to support these front-line professionals and will continue sourcing additional N95 masks for their use.”
XtraCare Also Provides Relief and Liquidity to Partners
Recognizing that many resellers greatest immediate need is liquidity, Stampede has created the PROAVXchange online auction hub where resellers can turn slow moving product into cash that is needed to operate their business. “For many resellers liquidity is the number one challenge they face after health and safety,” Kelly said. “The PROAVXchange provides resellers with an opportunity to sell product for a price that is most likely greater than what a bank would offer. What’s more, Stampede is prepared to repurchase product directly from resellers on a case by case basis.” Information about PROAVXchange can be found at www.stampedeglobal.com/proavxchange.
Stampede is also working with all credit worthy customers to roll out FleXFinancing that extends existing and future invoices payment terms by 30 (thirty) days. The company is also offering resellers a new AV as a Service (AVaaS) plan that provides end users with a monthly payment option that enables them to upgrade to the most up-to-date technology in the future. Resellers will get paid in full upfront, according to Kelly.
Finally, the company is undertaking a review of all open projects and working with resellers to identify any changes that are required to meet their evolving needs. For more information about FleXFinancing program options, please visit https://www.stampedeglobal.com/xtracare/flexfinancing/
“We are also working very closely with our resellers to restage product orders in order take advantage of immediate sales opportunities being created by the Covid-19 virus in verticals such as K12 education, higher education, healthcare and restaurant hospitality, where many end-users are deploying customer facing digital signage systems to communicate updates to their take-out customers,” he explained.
“We are all in this fight together, and together we will prevail against the challenges this pandemic poses to every part of our industry,” Kelly concluded. “Stampede has never been positioned better to serve the needs of the entire industry. The financial might of our parent, DCC plc, reinforces and strengthens our position as a partner you can count on to navigate through these challenging times.”