CONTEXT carries out its Shipments research by collecting Sell In figures from the vendors on a quarterly basis, covering international, regional and national vendors, which report their shipment figures according to technology.

Sales channels include: Assemblers, Distributors, Corporate Resellers, Retailers/Etailers, Mail Order companies, and including direct sales to end-users.

Shipments product coverage includes: PCs (Desktops, Notebooks, Tablet PCs, Servers, Workstations and Thin Clients); Printers (Inkjet and Laser printers, All-in-One Laser, Printer-based MFP, All-in-One Inkjet, Copier MFP); and Displays

CONTEXT then researches companies buying products directly from the vendors on an annual basis. This allows us to cross-check the figures provided by the Vendors for each country against the overall market size and channel make-up, as well as find local IT brands sold by national assemblers or distributors. This in turn allows CONTEXT to provide estimates for the proportion of the market selling direct to the end-user.