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HappyRobot / growth strategy Document

Strategic Brief

Choosing the next non-logistics vertical to test and define a repeatable wedge + GTM plan to reach first $1M ARR.

Recommendation: Prioritize Manufacturing Operations (plant-level ops + supply chain coordination) as the next vertical, with two productized workflows that match HappyRobot's strengths in voice + doc handling + system updates, delivered via an FDE-led pilot-to-rollout motion.
01

Why Manufacturing wins vs alternatives
Comparison Metrics
Interpretation: Higher is better for the first 3 metrics; higher is worse for Friction & Competition.
Vertical Revenue Transfer Trust Friction Comp. Net
Manufacturing 4–5 5 4 3–4 3–4 #1
Utilities 4 4 3–4 4 3 #2
Airlines 4 4 3 3–4 4 #3
Healthcare 5 4 3 5 4 #4
Retail 3–4 3–4 4 2–3 5 #5
Vertical Attractiveness Score was assessed by analysing (Revenue Expansion Potential × Workflow Transferability × Trust Acceleration) / (Deployment Friction + Competitive Entrenchment)

Why it wins:it's the cleanest adjacency to logistics. High-volume coordination, exception handling, supplier/customer communications, and document workflows, without healthcare-level regulatory drag. Manufacturing is also accelerating "smart manufacturing" and cloud/digital investment, which increases receptivity to enterprise automation

  • High cost of failure: downtime minutes enables ROI-based buying
  • System fragmentation is common → heavy manual handoffs
  • Accelerating "smart manufacturing" and cloud/digital investment
  • Increased receptivity to enterprise automation
02

Productized Workflows

Workflow 1

Downtime Dispatch Worker

Pain: Unplanned downtime triggers coordination chaos: triage, paging techs, chasing parts, and broadcasting status.

AI Agency:

  • Intake "line down" alerts and capture details
  • Create/update CMMSComputerized Maintenance Management System / EAMEnterprise Asset Management work orders
  • Coordinate technician/vendor scheduling
  • Check parts availability + chase suppliers
Value Proof (KPIs)
MTTRMean Time to Repair proxy, response time, downtime minutes influenced, % correctly classified work orders, overtime reduction.
Workflow 2

Expedite Worker Expediting is the process of ensuring the timely delivery of materials/equipment.

Procurement is the "big picture" of acquiring goods and services, while expediting is a specific, crucial action within that picture to manage the delivery timelines.

Pain:Planners spend hours chasing acknowledgements, ASNs, and ETAs; exceptions are repetitive high-volume, and spread across email/calls/portals.

AI Agency:

  • Proactively confirm near-due Purchase Orders (POs)
  • Turn ETAsEstimated Time of Arrivals / ASNsAdvanced Shipping Notices into structured updates
  • Manage late/risky shipments (follow-ups)
  • Collect/validate shipment docs
Value Proof (KPIs)
Touches per PO line, past-due lines, shortage-driven stoppages, planner hours saved, cycle time to commit date.
03

Hypotheses & Discovery

Hypothesis 1

Downtime dispatch coordination is automatable end-to-end with safe escalation.

Who to speak with

Maintenance & Reliability Manager, Plant Manager, Maintenance Planner.

Hypothesis 2

Supplier expediting is a high-ROI manual back-and-forth process where AI can own outbound comms.

Who to speak with

Materials Manager, Production Planner, Buyer/Procurement Manager.

Discovery Channels

Digital: LinkedIn Title-based targeting (maintenance reliability, planner, materials manager), industry filters (auto, chemicals, CPG, industrials) + vertical named account list. + Associations (SMRP, ASCM).
Field: IMTSInternational Manufacturing Technology Show. Chicago, USA. ~130,000 attendees., FABTECHNorth America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event. Various US Cities. ~45,000 attendees., PACK EXPOPremier packaging and processing event. Various US Cities. ~44,000 attendees., Hannover MesseThe world's leading trade fair for industrial technology. Hannover, Germany. ~130,000–200,000 attendees..

discovery plan

90-DAY
Weeks 1–4

20–30 discovery calls + concierge demos using real artifacts (late PO lists / scripts).

Weeks 4–8

Close 1 paid pilot with narrow success contract (one plant/workflow).

By Day 90

If thresholds hit, staff dedicated vertical pod and scale repeatable motion.

Go / No-Go Gate

✓ ≥60% confirm & quantify wedge pain
✓ ≥30% share artifacts; ≥10% commit to FY pilot
✓ 2+ accounts justify $100k+ annual spend

Signal Ladder

Customer Commitment Level
Describe pain unprompted
Quantify volumes / $ impact
Share internal artifacts
Run a scoped pilot
Pay / Pre-commit
04

Core Personas
Strategic Focus

Though enterprise buying committees include several stakeholders, concentrating on Maintenance & Reliability leaders and Materials/Planning owners ensures fast access to workflow truth and rapid pilot adoption, which is what makes an FDE-led strategy reach outcomes quickly and convert to rollout.

Other Buying Committee Roles
  • • Plant/Ops Director: Economic buyer; funds & prioritizes.
  • • VP Manufacturing: Scale sponsor; drives multi-site expansion.
  • • IT/Automation: Technical gatekeepers; security & integrations.
  • • Procurement/Legal: Process gatekeepers; onboarding & compliance.

Persona 1

Maintenance & Reliability Leader

Titles: Maintenance Manager, Reliability Manager, Maintenance & Engineering Manager.

Owns: uptime/availability, on-call escalation, technician/vendor coordination, CMMS hygiene, labor/contractor spend.

Why they'll buy

They live the phone-tree chaos; ROI ties directly to downtime minutes and overtime; pilots can be contained to a plant/line/shift.

Persona 2

Materials / Plant Supply Chain Expedite Owner

Titles: Materials Manager, Supply Chain Manager (plant), Production Planner/Master Scheduler, Purchasing Manager.

Owns: shortage prevention, expedite process, ERP/MRP accuracy (promise dates/notes), cross-functional coordination.

Why they'll buy

Measurable pain (past-due lines, touches/PO line), immediate relief via outbound comms + structured updates, strong champion potential.

05

Go-To-Market: The Path to $1M ARR

Positioning: "We run the high-stakes phone/email work that keeps production moving." Not a dashboard, a workforce layer that takes action across communications, documents, and system updates.

4 Key Accounts
$250k Avg. ACV
12 Months Target to $1M ARR
>60% Pilot Conversion

Channels (Ranked by Speed)

1
ABM Outbound:
ABM Execution Strategy
The Motion
Target 150–300 accounts. Open 3 threads: Champion (Maintenance/Materials), Economic (Plant/Ops), and Gate (Controls/IT).
Sequence
• 48hr loop: Start with champion; loop in leader with ROI framing.
• Tech Review: Bring IT/OT in early with "light integration" path.
Persona Angles
• Champ: "Remove chaos, reduce MTTR."
• Leader: "$ Impact in 30–60 days."
• IT/OT: "Audit logs, escalation controls."
 150–300 named accounts; CTA = workflow teardown + KPI baseline.
2
Design Partners: Focused references leading to expansion loop.
3
Ecosystem: Partner-led with SIs and CMMS/ERP networks.
4
Events: Private roundtables > booths for meeting acceleration.
5
Content: Operator playbooks to support credibility first.

Success Metrics

Repeatable Wedge
Pain-confirm (>60%), artifact share (>30%), pilot close rate (15–20%).
Shipped Outcomes
Time-to-FV, automation coverage, pilot→rollout conversion (>60%).
Scale Efficiency
FDE hours trending down, template reuse up, plant replication NRR.

Core Pod Members

  • Vertical GM (Market Launcher)
  • 1 Enterprise AE + 2 SDR (Sales)
  • 2 Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)
  • Shared Project Manager(Growth)

Scale Criterion

Add a second pod only after repeatability:

  • 2 referenceable rollouts
  • <30 days time-to-first-value
  • Consistent pilot conversion