Case study
At a Glance
- In the wake of a large merger we helped a major technology and services provider redesign its route-to-market strategy, expand its channel capacity and design an integrated new channel program.
- The company has seen double-digit annual growth in its indirect channel sales over two years, exceeding its sales growth targets.
The Story
A leading global technology company had a sales problem; its go-to-market model had not evolved in step with its expanding and complex product portfolio. Bringing our deep experience in channel optimization, we helped the company redesign its channel strategy, setting it on a trajectory to gain share, improve profitability and position itself for long-term growth.
A window of opportunity opened when TechnologyCo* made a major acquisition and asked us to help integrate the indirect sales channels of the two merging companies. One company’s nascent channel business had struggled to reach profitability and got low marks on ease of doing business; the other had a large channel business, but its rebates were not competitive with the market.
The first step in merging these programs was to design a new route-to-market strategy. We undertook an in-depth analysis of the company’s market, examining customer trends, buying preferences and profitability by route-to-market. Based on these findings we developed a new global sales model that maximized coverage, unlocked growth and improved profitability.
By expanding its share-of-wallet with existing partners while simultaneously adding new partners, the company was able to add billions in channel sales revenue over two years. The redesigned channel program contributed to the double-digit growth TechnologyCo sustained over three years.
Next we helped TechnologyCo create a four-year growth plan for the channel. This entailed assessing the capabilities and performance of the thousands of channel partners that sell the company’s products. We identified the partners with the greatest potential and designed a plan for TechnologyCo to prioritize those relationships. Our blueprint included detailed strategies for expanding TechnologyCo’s business with its existing partners; it also called for the recruitment of up to hundreds of new partners, a recommendation guided by our firm’s one-of-a-kind Channel Partner Database.
Presented with our recommendations, TechnologyCo’s CEO gave the go-ahead to implement the plan and make the related investments.
In parallel, we worked with the company to launch a new Partner Program to simplify the partner experience, restore rebate competitiveness against those of rivals and reward and motivate partners to pursue profitable segments of the market. The company worked closely with its partners, conducting joint account planning, two-way demand generation and a new-to-industry approach to program tiering with a “white glove” set of benefits.
The company saw an immediate impact. Within six months of the merger TechnologyCo could boast of a globally consistent channel program, with a unified partner base operating through a single program. And the company enjoyed unprecedented, proprietary account intelligence, with new insight into buying behaviors, deal registration, rebate payouts and more.
By expanding its share-of-wallet with existing partners while simultaneously adding new partners, the company was able to add billions in channel sales revenue over two years. The redesigned channel program contributed to the double-digit growth TechnologyCo sustained over three years.
* We take our clients' confidentiality seriously. While we've changed their names, the results are real.