The First Team Build
Detlef Mehlmann has a way of bringing United VARs’ milestones to life with great stories. For example, the signing of the United VARs partnership agreement at CeBIT technology fair in Hannover, 2006. Six SAP partners, a cramped meeting room at the SAP booth, and no air conditioning. “Everybody was sweating,” he recalls. “But we signed the contract.”
Detlef had collected the founders from airports across Germany in a rented minibus. After the signing, they celebrated at a restaurant nearby. When they returned to the bus around midnight, the parking lot was locked.
“Someone found a hole in the fence,” he says. “But there was a car on the other side, blocking the gap. So, all of us pushed the car out of the way and drove the bus through the gap in the fence.” He laughs. “We always say that was the very first United VARs team build.”
Choosing the Right Partners
Detlef went on to serve as Managing Director of United VARs from 2011 to 2026. Throughout that time, the approach to selecting members stayed consistent: find the strongest SAP VAR (Value Added Reseller) in each target market that’s both focused on the mid-market, and is owner-driven.
“We preferred owner-driven partners because it simplifies everything,” he explains. “If there’s a request from the alliance, they must prioritize it. And if conflicts come up at middle management level, the owners can pick up the phone to each other and sort it out directly.”
Becoming an LLP and an SAP Global Platinum Partner
Detlef is most proud of two key milestones that shaped United VARs the most. The first was establishing a legal entity, United VARs LLP, in 2011. That transformed the alliance from a handshake partnership into a formal organization and opened the door to its SAP partner status.
The founders asked SAP to consider them for SAP Partner status, but for five years SAP’s response was the same: we like the idea, but your structure doesn’t fit our partner landscape.
The breakthrough came when the people overseeing SAP’s global partner ecosystem agreed to hear United VARs’ case. Detlef recalls SAP’s response, “They said, ‘If our rules don’t fit United VARs, then we need to change the rules’ which we were delighted to hear.”
SAP created a new category of Global Platinum Partner to accommodate the alliance, and in 2015 United VARs was awarded this status. The expectation that came with it was clear: together, members should achieve more than each could alone.
What ‘Stronger Than One’ Means
Detlef is direct about what United VARs’ #StrongerThanOne strapline means in practice. A large global consultancy might have seven or eight SAP support centers worldwide. United VARs has over 70, and each one is a full-service provider with deep local infrastructure.
“We don’t just have a subsidiary with a handful of consultants,” he says. “We have a top SAP partner in each country, that has their own support infrastructure and is close to the client. A client in the Philippines would rather call a support center in Manila than one in Singapore. That’s what ‘Stronger Than One’ means.”
That global reach, underpinned by the trust and non-compete principles that have guided the alliance from the start, is what makes genuinely local SAP expertise possible at global scale.
Handing Over to Alex
Alexander Herfort joined United VARs from All for One as Head of Business Development in 2018. As Detlef’s retirement approached, he proposed Alex as his successor. He first became a joint Managing Director with Detlef to ensure a smooth handover.
“Alex brings more technical depth than I had, which matters hugely for our small team,” Detlef says. “For example, he can judge whether a United VARs Center of Excellence is doing the right work at the right quality. That’s been invaluable.”
Detlef's hopes for United VARs’ next 20 years is typically measured. "We already have great global coverage, so we don’t really need more members. The real goal is deepening what the alliance delivers for the members we already have. If each one is winning more business because of United VARs, and able to serve their clients better, that's how I'll know it's continuing to succeed."
About United VARs
Mid-sized companies should be able to go global without losing speed or local identity. United VARs brings together hand-picked local market leaders with real people on the ground in 100+ countries to remove legal, cultural, and language barriers. As a strategic alliance, United VARs provides clear accountability from start to finish. United VARs is the world’s only SAP Platinum Partner alliance, delivering end-to-end SAP services for the mid-market.
stronger than one