Client Overview

Companial is the world’s largest Microsoft Dynamics distributor, with impressive credentials:

• 1,100 partners across 75+ countries worldwide
• Serving 60,000+ indirect customers and 600,000+ users
• €180M annual revenue in 2024 (est.)
• 200 employees, including 30 software engineers
• Offices in 7 countries worldwide

As a value-added distributor in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem, Companial’s core business is selling Microsoft licenses to partners while providing development services and other offerings that increase the value of their licensing business.

The Challenge

Despite their success in the distribution and services space, Companial faced significant challenges when attempting to transition toward product development:

“Before starting to work with Produxity, we did not have product management capability. We can write perfect code that is working and matching expectations but there’s a lot of movement from customizing each solution differently into building products.”

The company had launched a new product in the market 18 months prior, but it failed to gain traction. As their Head of SMB team explained:

“Going into the market didn’t bring the desired sales. Some of the features might not have been relevant to the partners. Maybe we had not good enough documentation, or our approach into the go-to-market was maybe not as it should have been. We didn’t have success.”

The core issues Companial needed to address were:

1. Lack of product management capability – The organization had strong technical skills but lacked the knowledge and processes for effective product management
2. No organizational alignment – There was no shared understanding of product management across leadership or departments
3. Unclear team structure – Uncertainty about how to organize teams to support successful product development
4. Absence of methodology – No clear approach for building and launching products in a systematic way

Rather than risking further failures through trial and error, Companial sought expert guidance to establish a proven product management approach.

Our Approach

Produxity took a comprehensive yet flexible approach to addressing Companial’s challenges:

1. Building a Shared Foundation

We began with detailed workshops involving stakeholders from across the organization. While initially this seemed time-consuming to some participants, it proved essential for creating a common language and understanding around product management.

“It helped quite a lot to have a common base from when we start talking and aligning with other people because each of us seemed to have a different understanding of what product development and product organization is.”

2. Developing a Target Operating Model

We worked with Companial to design an optimal organizational structure for product development, addressing:

• Where product leadership should reside
• How different departments should engage with product
• Reporting structures and responsibilities
• Resource allocation between services and product development

3. Creating a Methodology for Product Development

Beyond organizational structure, we developed a clear methodology for how Companial should build, validate, and launch products to market, incorporating best practices tailored to their specific context in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem.

4. Designing a Practical Transition Plan

Recognizing that transformation doesn’t happen overnight, we crafted a step-by-step transition plan:

“Now we have not only the target operating model, which is maybe the best composition, what we as a company can have but as well a way how to move into it from where we are today.”

5. Flexible Implementation Support

When organizational decisions needed board approval, we adapted our approach:

“Produxity was very flexible in accepting that. Explaining to the board where we are, what decisions we need and then waiting for a couple of months until we managed to get the decision. And then continuing with the project forward.”

Results

Through our engagement, Companial achieved several significant outcomes:

1. Organizational Clarity
   Clear understanding of how to structure teams for effective product development
2. Methodological Framework
   A systematic approach to product development appropriate for their business model
3. Leadership Alignment
   A shared understanding of product management across the organization
4. Transition Roadmap
   A clear path forward with intermediate milestones to track progress
5. Knowledge Transfer
   Team members gained valuable insights into product management best practices

As their Head of SMB team put it:

“For me now is clear how I need to structure the team today so that we can perform in many years when the impact of the products will grow in the company.”

Looking Forward

With their new product management framework in place, Companial is well-positioned to transform their approach to product development and create more successful offerings for their global partner network.

Their experience demonstrates how even large, successful companies with strong technical capabilities can significantly benefit from establishing proper product management practices when expanding beyond their core services business.

Client Testimonial

“It was really an eye-opener for me on what actually the product development and model is. For companies who, as we were, are struggling with how best to implement product development in the company as a traditional services company, I would advise working with Produxity. They could help to better understand how the products are built and how a team can be structured to perform best in product development.”

— Head of SMB Team, Companial