I get it. When it comes to adopting new software applications, the last thing on your mind is the provider’s other customers – establishing a strategic partnership doesn’t seem like a priority. You simply want the new software to work so your organization can be more nimble and agile.
But who you are entering a relationship with should be top of mind. When we joined with Planview in a strategic partnership 11 years ago, we gained not only the company’s expertise, but the collective knowledge of their entire customer base. What this means is that great ideas and best practices can bubble up and cross-pollinate across industries, helping us to improve our business models.
Let me back up and provide more context. Flowserve is a multi-national organization with 18,000 employees in 55 countries. Flowserve manufactures and services fluid motion control solutions for the world’s toughest, most critical applications. As a result, we are constantly evolving our product portfolio and business models in our many locations. This allows us to be more progressive about how teams work together and prioritize work based on location.
Our goal is pretty simple: be adaptive and flexible to change. With Planview, not only do we get a partner who is deeply involved in work and resource management, but we also get to reap the rewards of what they are learning from other customers.
For example, let’s say a Planview customer is struggling with a similar issue, like how to gain better visibility into resource capacity. As they develop new ways of working, we can leverage their best practices and quickly scale solutions to overcome common obstacles.
This strategic partnership means we have a close day-to-day working relationship with Planview that extends far beyond a simple piece of software. We love how quickly we can apply new models of working to our business processes, organization roles and responsibilities, and to our metrics.
We also participate in Planview’s Inner Circle program and we attend Horizons – their annual customer conference. Inevitably, what this adds up to is a long-term relationship, not just with Planview, but with other customers.
Our strategic partnership with Planview means we “get” each other. And that goes a long way in strengthening how we work together to maximize our business value.
Want to learn how to benefit from a strategic partnership? I invite you to watch my video and encourage you to join the Planview Customer Community. And, if you’d like to hear more of the Flowserve story, be sure to see us at this year’s Horizons Conference in San Antonio, TX.
