Original equipment manufacturer partners, or OEM partners for short, are companies that create original software or integration that can be used for third-party software solutions into the products or services of their partners, typically in backend use cases. These OEM partnerships as they create tech that enhances their partners' offerings with specialized functionality.

These partnerships involve the licensing and incorporation of the SaaS provider's technology, allowing the OEM partner to deliver a comprehensive solution to its customers without the need to develop the software in-house. This collaborative approach enables partners to focus on their core competencies while leveraging the expertise of SaaS providers to deliver a more robust and feature-rich solution to the end-users.

OEM partnerships are technology collaborations between businesses where one company (the original equipment manufacturer, or OEM partner) supplies a SaaS product that another company (the partner) incorporates into their own offerings. The partner may customize the OEM product to align with their brand and functionalities. This approach enables the partner to broaden their product portfolio without internal development, while the OEM gains a wider market reach through the partner's distribution channels. Both partners benefit from the integration as they tend to increase retention and decrease churn in customers.

OKRs are a goal-setting framework widely used in the SaaS industry. The objectives define what you want to achieve, while key results are specific, measurable metrics to track progress and let you know when you've achieved the objectives. OKRs align teams, help to focus business efforts and drive performance results.

In B2B SaaS, they typically focus on growth, customer satisfaction, product development and revenue. By setting effective SaaS OKRs, B2B companies can measure and improve performance, foster innovation, and ultimately achieve business objectives.

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Onboarding (or onboarding flow) is the process by which vendors get partners set up for success with their partner program. This includes welcoming new partners, providing them with educational content, and helping them establish clear goals. Onboarding is one of the most important aspects of a partner journey, as it helps get them to the point of first and second sale.

Related: What great partner onboarding looks like.

The onboarding journey is the process by which your new partners are introduced to your program, educated on how it works and how they will participate, and get prepared through materials and education to become a participating member. While your specific onboarding journey may vary, it often includes education, product or knowledge certifications, and courses. The goal of the onboarding journey is to prepare partners to create value in your program.

Outbound recruitment (sometimes referred to as active recruitment) is the process of identifying and engaging with prospective partners with the intent to have them join your partner program.

The goal of outbound recruitment is to find potential partners who closely match your ideal partner profile, introduce them to your partner program, convey its value, and convince them to join. The partners found through outbound recruitment tend to be the best fits for your program (compared to those attracted through inbound recruitment, wherein anyone can apply for your program), but both strategies used in tandem are essential for a strong recruitment strategy.