30-year specialist robotics producer needed to transition from engineering-focused organization to commercially viable enterprise.
A 30-year specialist robotics producer needed to transition from serving niche manufacturing customers to addressing broader enterprise automation opportunities. Their robots were technically superior, but narrow market focus limited growth. To access enterprise accounts, they needed strategic partnerships with system integrators and technology platforms—but the company had always sold direct and lacked partnership capabilities.
The 4-week window reflected urgency: partnership conversations were already underway with major system integrators, but the company lacked the strategic framework to evaluate fit, structure deals, or ensure successful execution.
We conducted a rapid partnership strategy sprint focusing on three critical questions: which partnerships would unlock the most value, how should deals be structured to ensure mutual benefit, and what capabilities were needed for successful partnership execution?
The 4-week engagement developed partnership evaluation criteria (strategic fit, market access, technical complementarity, commercial viability), deal structure frameworks balancing revenue share with market access value, and go-to-market playbooks for different partnership types. We also helped the company think through partnership operations: how to manage joint pipeline, deliver collaborative solutions, and measure partnership success.
The partnership strategy enabled a $200M revenue target by unlocking enterprise accounts previously inaccessible through direct sales. The framework positioned the company to evaluate multiple partnership opportunities simultaneously, ensuring resources focused on highest-value relationships.
The transformation was as much cultural as strategic. The company shifted from viewing partners as threats to direct sales to recognizing them as market multipliers. Partnership evaluation criteria prevented the team from pursuing every opportunity indiscriminately. Deal structure frameworks ensured partnerships created value for both sides. Most importantly, the go-to-market playbooks enabled partnership success after contracts were signed—preventing the "signed but not activated" failure mode common in new partnership programs.
Success required moving quickly without cutting corners. The 4-week sprint format forced prioritization—focusing on frameworks that enabled decisions rather than comprehensive documentation. Evaluating multiple live partnership opportunities during the engagement ensured frameworks were practical, not theoretical. Most critically, addressing both deal structure and partnership operations prevented the common mistake of focusing only on contract terms while neglecting execution capabilities.