FirstPartner’s work brought clarity to our understanding of a complex, challenging market and the research received great feedback from the WEX team. The project helped us to build a focused Go to Market strategy with confidence.
Myles Stephenson
Managing Director, WEX Europe
The Challenge
WEX Europe is a leading provider of corporate payment solutions. The company’s growth is based on addressing high value markets using innovative products to stimulate change in each industry.
A key target sector is travel where it sees significant further potential, notably for its virtual payment card products. The $500 billion global travel market comprises a highly complex web of suppliers, intermediaries and agents with diverse business models.
Making sense of it and identifying where to invest product, marketing and sales resources is a real challenge.
Approach
FirstPartner developed a multistage research and strategy development approach comprising:
- Detailed mapping of the industry. This clearly defined value chains, players and payment relationships.
- Development of a customer segmentation model based on needs and addressability.
- Design and delivery of a primary research study comprising in-depth interviews with leading agents, intermediaries and suppliers across the globe. This delivered valuable insights into needs, pain points and attitudes regarding payment solutions.
- Production of detailed market opportunity valuation forecasts. These drove target market prioritisation decisions.
- Development of Go to Market Strategy recommendations encompassing segment and geographic priorities, target customers, partnering and product roadmaps.
Throughout the process FirstPartner worked closely with the WEX team to capture and consolidate industry intelligence and understanding.
Results
The outcomes of the work have been used as a major input to WEX’s strategy planning cycle, helping to determine targets, sales strategy and resource allocation.
