Cimquest bought by Sandvik/Mastercam

[JParis]

If you ask me, this is the beginning of the end of VAR network

https://www.mastercam.com/news/press-releases/mastercam-to-acquire-reseller-cimquest/

February 26, 2024 (Tolland, Conn.) – Sandvik announces the signing of an agreement to acquire the American company, Cimquest, which will be part of Mastercam, the world's #1 CAM software. Cimquest is a Mastercam Reseller located in New Jersey, United States.

"The addition of Cimquest continues Mastercam's ongoing investment into our Channel," says Mastercam Chief Market Officer, Sandy Moffat. "This signing of agreement to acquire Cimquest ensures Mastercam's ecosystem of solutions remains connected to our customer base for years to come."

[gcode]

You beat me to it.

So Sandvik is going to start gobbling up Mastercam Dealers now??
In some of the smaller markets, that might be a good thing.
Many smaller dealers do not have the knowledge or staff to provide their customers with
world class service.
Some do no more than send out bills and forward license emails
I know a guy who'd happily piss on his old MC dealer's grave 

[JakeL]

VAR network

What's VAR network?

[JParis]

What's VAR network?

Value Added Reseller

[__]

I hope they buy in house solutions

[neurosis]

If you ask me, this is the beginning of the end of VAR network

Is that a good thing or bad? 

[JParis]

Is that a good thing or bad? 

IMO...it's a bad thing....Mastercam succeeded as it did directly because of its dealer network.

I know there are specific dealers that shall remain nameless that weren't part of that stellar group but some of their more visible resellers added greatly to the Mastercam base.

[gcode]

Is that a good thing or bad? 

It depends on who your VAR is.
The big territories can support a robust VAR that offers good training, post editing and support.
The smaller ones can't... yet I suspect their customers pay the same even if the support is sub par.
The VAR network does not accommodate price competitiveness as far as I know.
If the VAR network is eliminated I would guess everyone would pay the same price.

When my employer decided to become a Catia house my new manager threw three Catia dealers
into a to-the-death-cage match. I was shocked at how much fluff there was in Catia modules
when the boots started flying.

I think the winning dealer pretty much gave it away planning to recoup his profits with annual maintenance.
3 years later the "new" manager left, and the winning dealer blubbered like a baby when I declined to renew
the $60K annual maintenance bill.

[neurosis]

I know there are specific dealers that shall remain nameless that weren't part of that stellar group but some of their more visible resellers added greatly to the Mastercam base.

Our local reseller was always very good to us.

They were bought out by MLC Cad quite a few years ago but the quality of service didn't go down. Some times it takes a little longer to get questions answered and the experience isn't quite as personal, but they also have a LOT more customers.

It will be interesting to see where this goes. 

[gcode]

I hope they buy in house solutions

tell us how you really feel 

[__]

tell us how you really feel 

I feel like they should give back the 5k i paid them cuz the product level didn't have the feature i bought it for.

[MIL-TFP-41]

We had a local reseller a few years back. He was wanting to retire but was having a really tough/impossible time finding someone who could fill his shoes. He did not want to leave his customers hanging out to dry, he was concerned with his support legacy. So when he did finally retire he wound up selling to MLC Cad, who in turn hired a couple of very responsive and competent guys to cover my area. So support in our area has been what I would rate as very good.

I do wonder, you get these outfits like MLC Cad who sell and support both Solidworks and Mastercam. If things go the way of eliminating the VAR would Sandvik buy out part of a company?

[gcode]

This was the first - April 2022, CNC purchased 4D Engineering (which was Mastercam UK)
https://www.digitalengineering247.com/article/cnc-software-buys-4d-engineering/prototype

How is that working out?

[TSmcam]

I know a guy who'd happily piss on his old MC dealer's grave 

You know me so well LOL

[gcode]

You know me so well LOL

It's not like your disdain is undeserved.