Cisco Meraki Partner Forum?

[BrandonS]

What does the community and moderators think of having a partner forum?  Ideally it could be limited to verified Cisco partners.  I was thinking it would be nice to have a place to talk some business occasionally with other parters but there might be some content that should not be visible to end customers or non-resellers.

[jdsilva]

Sure, I'm game. 

[Nash]

I'd be down, even though I desperately try to stick to being the nerd in the corner and not care about salesing. 🙂

[BrandonS]

Cool.  I am all tech and nerd at heart and I hate salesing myself, but on the other hand I am a small business owner so it really cannot be avoided if I want to pay the bills 🙂

Even if there does not ending up being a forum here maybe we can connect on Slack or Glip or something.  I am on a vendor specific Slack channel (Zultys) with dozens of other partner techs and business owners that is really useful.

[PhilipDAth]

Tsk tsk.  🙂

Being Cisco it would be a Webex Teams group.  You can't be using competing products, especially when basic WebEx teams is free ... Also if you want to communicate with people in Cisco - WebEx teams is the way to go since they all have and use it.

https://www.webex.com/team-collaboration.html

[BrandonS]

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@PhilipDAth wrote:

Tsk tsk.  🙂

Being Cisco it would be a Webex Teams group.  You can't be using competing products, especially when basic WebEx teams is free ... Also if you want to communicate with people in Cisco - WebEx teams is the way to go since they all have and use it.

https://www.webex.com/team-collaboration.html

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Good point ;). So I have a WebEx Team with no one but me in it ready to go.  Anyone who wants to share their email (DM is best I suppose) and I will invite you.  At the very least those of us not yet familiar with Teams can play around and learn to use it (and maybe to sell it).  I would like to ask that you provide me some proof that you are working for a Cisco partner- like let me lookup your email domain in the Cisco partner locator or something.  I could also make a general team, but I really have some interest in making friends with other partners to begin with.

Thanks!

[CarolineS]

We love this suggestion. We don't want to segment the technical discussions unnecessarily, but for partner-specific business-y things, we'd be very open to creating a partner-only forum here on the community.

@BrandonS  - we'll be following up with you! (and don't start something on WebEx teams! We can do it here! That way, any kudos can count towards your MOTM scores and badges and the community team's engagement goals ;))

[BrandonS]

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@CarolineS wrote:

We love this suggestion. We don't want to segment the technical discussions unnecessarily, but for partner-specific business-y things, we'd be very open to creating a partner-only forum here on the community.

@BrandonS  - we'll be following up with you! (and don't start something on WebEx teams! We can do it here! That way, any kudos can count towards your MOTM scores and badges and the community team's engagement goals ;))

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Great.  I will refrain from soliciting members away from here 🙂

[ASA-FTD]

I do work for a Cisco partner but curiosity and Schrodinger's cat didn't end well. 

[JPAWELCHAK]

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@CarolineS wrote:

We love this suggestion. We don't want to segment the technical discussions unnecessarily, but for partner-specific business-y things, we'd be very open to creating a partner-only forum here on the community.

@BrandonS  - we'll be following up with you! (and don't start something on WebEx teams! We can do it here! That way, any kudos can count towards your MOTM scores and badges and the community team's engagement goals ;))

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What has come of this? I would like access.

[CarolineS]

@JPAWELCHAK — we haven't yet set up a partner-only forum here on the Community platform (and we don't have an estimated timeline for doing so — bummer, I know!), but perhaps @BrandonS has set something up on his own?

[BrandonS]

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@CarolineS wrote:

@JPAWELCHAK— we haven't yet set up a partner-only forum here on the Community platform (and we don't have an estimated timeline for doing so — bummer, I know!), but perhaps @BrandonS has set something up on his own?

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@JPAWELCHAK I created a WebEx Team for this purpose.  It only has two member so far though.. myself and @PhilipDAth Just DM your email to me and I will add you.  Same to anyone else interested.

[ShabadChawla]

Hi Brandon,

This sounds like a great idea - how do we join?

Shabad

[BrandonS]

@ShabadChawla If you message me your email address I will add you to the WebEx Team I made for this purpose.

Including you, it will now make just three of us 😉

[ShabadChawla]

Great! Next question: where's the DM button? 🙂

[CarolineS]

Hi @ShabadChawla and welcome to the Meraki Community! You have to have a certain amount of activity on the community before the DM feature is available (this helps prevent DM spam). It looks like you just earned that permission and should be able to DM Brandon from the “Send a message” button on his profile.

[ShabadChawla]

Excellent, thanks!

[Thygesen]

@BrandonS @CarolineS 

So ..

How are thing rolling along with Partner specific boards ?

Long time no news ?

With Highest Regards

Thyge

[CarolineS]

Hi @Thygesen -

Great to know you're interested! A general-purpose partner-only forum didn't happen, but the MSP Forum is partner only (not sure if that's relevant to you or not). Also, I believe @BrandonS started a WebEx Teams room; not sure if that is currently active or not.

The more interest we get here from partners about a general partner forum, the better I can make the case internally! So, thanks.

Cheers!

[Thygesen]

I'm in .. And could do with some WebEx Teams for info distribution .. 

[BrandonS]

@Thygesen You can DM me your email address and I will add you to the WebEx team.  There are just a few of us and not too active yet, but the more the merrier.  Please include your company name and/or link to your company in the Cisco Partner finder to confirm you are a partner.

[Thygesen]

😉 We did that already 🙂

Just curious as to what might happen ..

/Thyge

[OS-Cubed]

Question: Is that the forum where we would ask WTH we can't get any meraki parts for months at a time and are losing customers because of it?

[Thygesen]

@OS-Cubed 

I guess so ..

But in the same question, You migh ask Yourself where Cisco Meraki should aquire the parts for building Your orders ?

We use the opportunity to upsell and use the more advanced available equipment, and strike a good deal with Cisco about the diff.

I think now is a perfect time to do great deals with Cisco, since they also are very concerned about delivery to their loyal customers and partners.

The delivery situation is equally hard for our friends from other venders, so I feel more obligated to loyalty and to be present at our customer locations, to clarify why things are as they are.

If Your lost customers has any production with any 3rd party components, they surely understand the situation.

Why not use the opportunity to extend and strengthen the connection with Your Cisco persons ?

[OS-Cubed]

Because these are NEW customers that I'm selling Meraki into but cannot deliver and they have DEADLINES.  And I CAN get the parts from other vendors IN STOCK.  Their FIRST IMPRESSION of Meraki is "oh I can order in November and by APRIL I still don't have hardware.  I can't order an "alternative router" if there are literally NO ROUTERS AVAILABLE. I cant' get them an "alternative wifi" AP if there are literally NONE AVAILABLE FOR 90 days. I can't "strengthen a relationship" by not delivering hardware. Bring the production of these parts home. Cisco has BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.  Just bring the production home and make them here if you can't get them from China.

[BrandonS]

As of yesterday there are several models of MR (42/52/55/70), MS and MX (100/105/250/450) all available for immediate shipping in North America.  I'm not arguing the situation is great, but it is not accurate that nothing is available.  

[OS-Cubed]

Name one of those that is SMB. SMB is my business. No one is buying a $3000 MX when they can get a sonicwall for 700 bucks. So unless Cisco is selling their 3000 mx for 700 bucks - it's not happening. And the MR42 that you think ships today? Nope.You can't even quote those in CCW - they don't exist. Go try it. Nothing but current  models in the price list. And none of those ship in less than 60 days, and the only ones that ship in 60 days require 5 antennaes and cost $2000 bucks list.  All of those "one day ship" deals are wrong. Not a one of them ships in a day, because you can't order them at all.  They should be pulled from the parts list, and are already pulled from the list of models on the meraki site, and in the ccw interface.

[JPAWELCHAK]

@OS-Cubed The MR42 as well as others can absolutely be quoted in CCW and shipped, you just have to know how to do it. Talk to your CAM or the Meraki AM that aligns with the deal for the secret sauce.

[OS-Cubed]

Nope. Type MR42 into items - not there. Nor are any of the other 1 day items that are no longer valid part numbers to sell. 

I shouldn't have to jump through hoops - if that's indeed what I am supposed to do - to get an orderable part into my quote. 

[OS-Cubed]

To give you perspective I ordered an SMB MX in November 2021. They are estimating it will ship in.... January 2023. That's right. Next year. I'll let you explain that to my client, that they can't implement their network at their new site until..... next year.  When they're planning to move in this month. We'll see how that goes.

[OS-Cubed]

Meraki and Cisco need to address this head on. If they can't provide product in a reasonable time frame they should pull all that product off the site so that customers don't think they can buy it. They should out line to partners EXACTLY what they are going to do to fix this issue, and they should start parts sourcing other than china IMMEDIATELY. Take some of the BILLIONS in cash Cisco is sitting on and invest it in manufacturing and supply chain. Buy your own boat. Build your own factories. Fix it. Or go out of business.  No one is waiting a year and a month for parts. No one.

[OS-Cubed]

Instead all I hear is whining about how I should upsell clients into stuff they don't need because you can't get the stuff they do need. I've built an ENTIRE BUSINESS around Meraki. Every one of my clients has Meraki. And now I cannot service them. 

[Thygesen]

Whining .. Well indeed .. I seem to see that a lot in this specific line of posts ..

I too have my business with SMB customers, and I do not whine.

I deliver Meraki stuff nearly daily right now.

I take the positive approach and engage with my Meraki persons.
The DO provide and to me they are more than willing to help You out!
My experience is that when You escallate exactly Your scenario, the Cisco system WILL help You out.
Either by my methods above or by providing other means of solving the problem until stuff can arrive.

We have ie used temporary devices (Z3C's ie) to provide connection until the right stuff arrives.

I think I will stop answering Your posts, since they are somewhat lacking in the positive karma section and not receptive for other answers than "Lets give Meraki hell".

[ShabadChawla]

Chiming in as a bystander to this conversation but very much involved in the stock situation.

@Thygesen I appreciate your attempts to be positive in a difficult but I have to say, I have found the situation with Meraki to be more difficult than with other vendors and their approach to be less than ideal.

We have had to change plans on a number of projects due to stock shortages. On some, we went with another vendor.

I'll give an example of one project in particular

• we placed an order with Meraki in December with a lead time of 40-80 days for various items.
• Come March 2022 we hadn't received anything
• We made contact to find out an ETA and were advised the current lead time was ~100 days. Not 100 days from when the order was placed in December, but 100 days from when we called for an update in March. I've never heard of such a thing. If they provide a lead time, they should honour it. If they can't, they should just be honest and say that they can't say when they will be able to deliver. We are placing orders and scheduling projects based on incorrect information.
• We were also advised that although they had had stock of some items, they wouldn't part-ship and would only ship when all items were available. 
• We installed some of our stock equipment on a temporary basis to help this client get a site operational and it took us weeks of emailing to try and get some temporary licences for this equipment. In the end, we were probably a day away from having the network shut down before we got the licences.
• During this time, it looked like Meraki was trying to contact the customer directly rather than dealing with us. We had requested the trial licences in communication with our distributor and Meraki directly, and were advised by a Meraki rep at one stage that they didn't know a partner was involved.

So although I understand fully the situation that Meraki, our industry and the world is in, I think all businesses should be transparent and honest if they want to be treated as a respected and trusted partner.

We have placed scores of orders with many vendors over the last year with varying lead times and other vendors have delivered more or less when they said they would.

Meraki have been unable to deliver when promised and on top of that, demonstrated a lack of transparency, communication and even a basic level of making an effort to even play nice with their partners and help us help our mutual customers.

[OS-Cubed]

This exact thing. I cannot tell a client - hey it'll be 5 months but I'll give you what you need, only to find out 5 months later that my delivery date has been pushed out to a year and 2 months.

[OS-Cubed]

And now I suspect that the stuff that was supposed to go to MY client went to the guy up above me in this reply chain. 🙂

[OS-Cubed]

BS - I've escalated the scenario every time they've extended the delivery date. If they do promise a date they don't make it. And they extend delivery dates without informing us.   Maybe YOU are getting product but I'm not. 

[OS-Cubed]

The day Cisco bought Meraki was the worst day for that brand on the planet.

[GiacomoS]

Hey Team,

I'm not part of the supply chain team, but I thought I'd share some thoughts around the topic.

I understand how frustrating the situation is, and how difficult it is to manage expectations, plan and achieve the deadlines of certain projects. Stock levels are currently very fluid, as we distribute the available production, which I need to remind you is heavily impacted by the global and industry-wide chip shortages and a pandemic that has not yet subsided fully, across all the regions to fulfill as many orders as possible in as little time as possible. There's a lot of complexity behind the supply chain, that includes not only the production challenges, but also import and export ones; at times these are beyond our control and that can cause variations on due dates. 
I would continue to encourage you to stay closely in touch with our Sales team, who are closely informed about the evolving situation and can offer alternatives, where possible. Your success, is our success, and we are therefore all extremely keen to ensure all of the orders are fulfilled as quickly as possible. 

Once again, I completely empathise with the challenges everyone is facing and I would also take advantage to encourage everyone to remain respectful of each other in these Community spaces.

Many thanks.

Giac