St. Louis – Channel Championz, a specialist in distribution channel development for the security hardware industry, announced that Roy Miller has joined the firm as Special Projects Director, further strengthening its capabilities in Original Design and Equipment Manufacturing (ODM/OEM) and specialty project development for global OEM lock and security hardware customers.

Miller, a former president at ASSA ABLOY company Mul‑T‑Lock and director at NAPCO Security Technologies, brings decades of hands‑on experience working with locksmiths, institutional buyers, OEMs, integrators, and end users across the security hardware value chain. Based in the Asia-Pacific region, he will represent Channel Championz on the ground with key manufacturing partners in China, Taiwan, and greater Asia, enabling faster project turnaround and tighter alignment between customer requirements and factory capabilities.

“Roy brings something increasingly valuable to this industry: true, ground-floor security hardware knowledge combined with a global manufacturing perspective,” said Jerry Burhans, founder of Channel Championz. “We both understand how products move through the real security channel, from manufacturer to distributor, locksmith, institutional buyer, OEM, integrator and end user. Having Roy on our team gives Channel Championz and our partners more capability to turn hard-to-solve security problems into commercially viable products.”

Miller’s addition comes as the security hardware market continues to evolve beyond mechanical systems. Today’s security solutions are expected to interact with digital credentials, smartphones, biometrics, wearables, monitoring systems, GPS tracking platforms and other connected technologies. Channel Championz sees growing demand for experienced professionals who can bridge the gap between product concept, manufacturing feasibility, field application and channel execution.

“Security hardware can no longer be evaluated only by the strength and quality of the hardware itself,” said Miller. “The way that hardware interacts with the user is changing. People now interface with the world through smartphones, biometrics, wearables and connected devices. No single company can do it all anymore, and technology moves too fast and the expertise is too specialized. Smart companies know when to bring in help instead of trying to build everything themselves. That's exactly where I come in.”

As Special Projects Director, Miller will support Channel Championz partners in several key areas. These include original design manufacturing (ODM) initiatives, global sourcing and OEM manufacturing coordination, and product design support. His work will also support Asia-Pacific manufacturing collaboration for customers.

Miller’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region further strengthens Channel Championz’ ability to collaborate directly with global manufacturing partners, including suppliers and production resources throughout key Asian manufacturing markets. This gives Channel Championz partners access to a more complete support model that combines market knowledge, customer insight, technical product understanding and sourcing capability.

One early example of this work involves a custom security hardware application that could not be solved with an off-the-shelf security hardware product in the U.S. Channel Championz is helping coordinate the project between the customer, the channel partner, and an Asia-based manufacturing resource, beginning with an immediate design enhancement and the potential to scale into a larger production program following pilot testing.

The project reflects the type of opportunity Miller will help support: listening to a specific field need, identifying the right manufacturing and sourcing path, validating whether the business case supports custom development, and helping bring a practical engineered solution back through the security hardware channel to the end user.

“The market is crowded with features, devices and new technologies, but very few people understand the full path from field problem to engineered product to successful channel sale,” Burhans added. “Roy strengthens our ability to listen to the customer, work with the right manufacturing partner, and build intelligent security hardware programs that make sense technically and commercially.”

For Channel Championz, the addition of Miller represents a strategic expansion of the company’s role in the security hardware market. The company will continue supporting manufacturers with channel development, distributor relationships, sales strategy and marketing communications programs, while adding deeper capabilities in product development, OEM/ODM projects, engineered applications and custom security product development programs.