How PTC Brought Order To Its Complex Partner Program

PTC relies on an extensive network of hardware and software partners to extend the value of its software to more than 27,000 customers. Each of PTC's more than 350 active partnerships in the PartnerAdvantage Program are documented, tracked, and maintained through an Quickbase application that stores relevant partner data such as agreements and email records and delivers on-demand reporting. Quickbase is a critical management system that helps the small PartnerAdvantage team deliver bottom line value to the business.

Challenge

• Move from spreadsheets to central system for managing partner relationships
• Document key activities across several business processes
• Provide other groups within PTC visibility into partner relationships
• Provide fast reporting on the status and history of partner relationships
• Create email lists based on defined criteria

Solution

• Quickbase application tailored to key business processes
• Integration with PTC Windchill® enterprise application for content management
• Key emails automatically stored within partner records
• Fast reporting on key business process
• Easy sorting and list generation for targeted email communications

Benefits

• Single source of truth for partner relationship information, history, status and changes
• Provides visibility into partner records for other groups within PTC
• Improved operational efficiency for PartnerAdvantage team, enabling it to manage 350 active partner relationships with only 5 employees
• Easy configuration allows for fast changes by PartnerAdvantage team without relying on IT resources

Managing business partnerships can be complex typically involving multiple agreements, stakeholders, and deadlines that change over time. As partnerships evolve, tracking those changes and maintaining visibility into the current status of the partnership becomes challenging.

For PTC, a $1.3 billion software company, managing partnerships with complementary hardware and software companies is critical to the company's success. The PartnerAdvantage team at PTC is responsible for managing 350 active relationships with hardware and software partners with a staff of five team members. To help manage multiple business processes associated with the partner program, PTC relies on an Quickbase application that helps document, track, and report on key partner information and activities.

Migrating from Paper and Spreadsheets

The PartnerAdvantage Program at PTC has been contributing to the company's success for over two decades. For much of that time, the team managed partner data, contracts and activities using a combination of paper and electronic documents, spreadsheets, and share drives. As partnerships grew in number and complexity, this practice became unsustainable. Determining who had the latest version of a spreadsheet or tracking email communications through inbox searches hampered productivity for the PartnerAdvantage team, taking time away from other essential partner activities.

The team needed a solution that would store partner records in a central location that was easily accessible by all team members and other groups within PTC. The solution also needed to help the PartnerAdvantage team manage workflows for several key processes, including:

• Onboarding new partners
• Managing software licenses and renewals
• Providing access to technical support
• Guiding partners to their marketing entitlements, including press releases, case studies, and other collateral and activities
• Strategic planning

In 2005 the PartnerAdvantage team selected Quickbase to manage partner records. Quickbase now serves as both a central repository for partner information and a hub that connects to other systems vital to the partner management processes.

The Quickbase app is tightly integrated with PTC WindChill, a PTC software package that serves as a content management system for the PartnerAdvantage team. Contracts, marketing assets, and other documents are easily accessed from associated partner records in Quickbase.

The PartnerAdvantage team also uses a third-party application called SendToQuickbase to log important email communications between the PartnerAdvantage team and its partners. When emailing a company in the partner database, the PartnerAdvantage team member is prompted by a dialogue box that offers to attach the email to the partner record. This has allowed Barlow and his team to avoid misunderstandings with a tight record of agreements, requests, and other communications.

The team also relies on the ability to create both ad hoc and standard reports and list generation that streamlines communication with groups of partners. For example, the team can generate a report showing active partners by membership tier (Platinum, Gold, or Silver) or active partners with certain marketing entitlements. Any of these reports can be exported quickly for a targeted email list based on what types of information each partner should receive.

Driving Value for PTC

Since implementing the Quickbase solution, the PartnerAdvantage team has delivered results both inside its own team and throughout the organization. Internally, the team has dramatically improved its operational efficiency to the point it can handle complex relationships with 350 active partners with only five team members. Having all partner records stored in a single repository ensures that all current and historical information is readily available.

That visibility extends to the rest of PTC, as well. Other groups within PTC - for example, the Mergers & Acquisitions team - can easily search within the partner database to get a better understanding of the partners and their business.

Most importantly, Barlow and his team continue to rely on an application that can be easily updated without help from a developer or PTC's IT department to adapt to changing needs and requirements.