By Miranda Monahan, Global Partnership Director, Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations
At the 2025 ITAD Summit, I had the opportunity to speak on a topic close to my heart: what makes an ITAD partnership truly successful—and what separates a transactional relationship from a strategic one. I joined peers on the panel “Strengthening Your Partnership Network – How to Identify Partners that Will Support Your Values, While Maximizing Your Revenue.”
As Dynamic’s Global Partnership Director, I’ve seen firsthand how the right partnerships can unlock scalability, service excellence, and long-term resilience. But I’ve also seen how misalignment, even when intentions are good, can unravel great potential. Here’s how we approach global partnerships at Dynamic, with purpose, clarity, and a people-first mindset.
Step One: Values First, Always
Our company’s mission centers around one guiding principle: put people first. It’s how we operate internally, and it’s how we choose our partners.
When vetting a new partner, we go far beyond capabilities on paper. We get to know the team: leaders, operations staff, and customer-facing folks alike. Why? Because real partnership is about shared values, not just shared interests. If a vendor doesn’t value integrity, excellence, and accountability, we’re not the right match.
We also ask questions like:
- What does “excellence” mean to you?
- Do you hold the same certifications we do (R2, e-Stewards, NAID, etc.)?
- Are you tracking KPIs like quote response time, pickup performance, or SLA adherence?
At Dynamic, we report on partner performance weekly at the leadership level—and we expect our partners to be equally metrics-driven.
What Makes Partnerships Work
The best partnerships are built on three pillars: communication, flexibility, and consistency.
Communication: We expect open, honest, proactive updates—especially when things go wrong. Transparency builds trust faster than perfection ever could.
Flexibility: No two clients are alike. Our partners must be willing to customize services and adapt as needs evolve.
Reliability: “Say what you do, do what you say.” From on-time pickups to reporting accuracy, the basics matter.
We also collaborate early—setting expectations clearly, drafting work orders, defining SLAs, and then reviewing performance regularly through QBRs. Alignment starts on day one and never stops.
Recycling Is Not Optional
Many companies treat recycling as a secondary or fallback service. We don’t.
At Dynamic, recycling is a core component of every ITAD engagement, and we’re proud to be vertically integrated. That means we can provide reliable, certified recycling at scale, with the controls and traceability our clients—and partners—require.
Whether we’re supporting a large retail program, a VAR, or another ITAD provider, we treat every relationship as an opportunity to advance sustainable outcomes. That’s why we’ve built an entire division that can support other ITADs with secure, compliant, high-volume recycling solutions.
Global Partnerships Take Precision & Trust
Building global partnerships adds a layer of complexity—but also tremendous opportunity. For international collaborations to succeed, internal and external alignment is essential.
Before we even begin executing, we:
- Define shared objectives and outcomes
- Outline non-negotiables (customer obsession being a big one)
- Blueprint the process with key stakeholders
- Document expectations through contracts, SOWs, SLAs, and work orders
- Maintain regular communication and performance reviews
Without that foundation, scale can introduce risk. With it, we’re able to grow together—securely and confidently.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
As is inevitable in our business, I’ve seen partnerships fail. Often, the early stages are filled with optimism and energy—but cracks appear when expectations are unclear, or communication breaks down. Sometimes, it’s a slow drift; other times, it’s a major compliance miss. Either way, the lesson is clear:
Transparency isn’t just good practice, it’s a requirement.
The Role of Transparency & Communication
From serialized asset tracking to downstream vendor disclosures, visibility is everything in our industry. It builds trust, enables compliance, reduces risk, and creates space for continuous improvement.
Regular reporting, honest feedback, and willingness to course-correct are what allow partnerships to evolve over time. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being accountable.
Final Thought: Choose Partners Who Care
At the end of the day, the best partnerships are not transactional—they’re transformative.
They’re built with people who care. People who communicate. People who show up when things get hard. And people who share your values, not just your business goals.
That’s how we operate at Dynamic, and that’s who we choose to grow with.