Sequencing distributor, integrator and OEM channels for an industrial technology company
Distributors, integrators, OEM partners and a direct team were all chasing the same customers. A coverage model, channel economics and conflict rules set who sells what, and in what order.
- Challenge
Several channels chasing the same customers, with no agreed investment order.
- Approach
Channel economics, partner roles, a coverage model and conflict rules.
- Result
A sequenced channel plan with defined partner roles and equipped priority partners.
The situation
Industrial technology companies often sell through routes that grew by accident: regional distributors, some integrators, an OEM agreement and a direct key-account team. Each route claims the same customers, margins overlap, and partners push whichever product earns them most. The company funds every channel a little, and no partner sells it well. Without a model, each new partner adds coverage on paper and conflict in practice.
The question that mattered
Which channels should the company invest in, for which customers and in what order, and what does each partner need to sell well?
What we did
- 1
Assess the channel economics
Compare distributors, system integrators, OEM partners and direct key-account selling on segment reach, technical capability, margin and cost to serve.
- 2
Define partner roles and coverage
Assign each route to segments and deal types: distributors for replenishment, integrators for automation projects, OEMs for embedded supply and direct for key accounts.
- 3
Set conflict rules and sequence
Write rules for deal registration, account ownership and pricing, then order channel investment by what each route must prove before the next is funded.
- 4
Enable priority partners
Build partner messaging, application guides and joint account plans so priority partners can position the product in their own customer conversations.
What we delivered
The evidence and working documents the team kept.
- Channel assessment with economics for each route
- Coverage model linking segments and deal types to channels
- Conflict rules for deal registration, account ownership and pricing
- Sequenced channel investment plan with criteria for each step
- Partner enablement kit: messaging, application guides and joint account plan template
The outcome
Channel roles
defined by segment and deal type
Investment
sequenced against agreed channel economics
Conflict rules
set for shared accounts
Priority partners
equipped to position the product
Partner discussions start from a defined role and a joint account plan, not a discount request.
What changed in the GTM motion
Channels become a designed coverage model rather than a collection of partner logos. Each route has a role, an economic case and clear rules, and new partners are added against the model.
Services in this programme
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