Preface · a hypothesis, not a diagnosis
This document was prepared ahead of an initial conversation with the executive sponsor in May 2026, and updated to reflect what was learned in that conversation. It is built from public signals: SEC filings, earnings transcripts, investor day materials, and job postings. Where the conversation confirmed or corrected an observation, that is noted in the text. The intent is to share how I think about product and commercial problems, and to give any subsequent conversation a concrete starting point.
01 · Context
The company operates from 260 branch locations across North America with 50%+ market share in modular units and 25% in portable storage. VAPS revenue compounded at 26% CAGR from 2012 to 2024 and reached 17% of total revenue in Q1 2025, growing toward a 20–25% long-term target with 70%+ margins. 44.4% Adjusted EBITDA margin in 2024, 42.3% in Q2 2025 despite 6–14% volume declines across product lines. Brand unification and single-site consolidation completed July 2024. Unified CRM and SAP ERP operational. Website pageviews up 15%, unique users up 65% post-launch. Data centers and power generation subsectors active across the US; climate-controlled storage units on rent up 44% YoY at end of October 2025; premium product line up 30% YoY. $554M in Adjusted Free Cash Flow in 2024; initiated quarterly dividend February 2025; 16.7% Return on Invested Capital trailing twelve months. The team that built the platform is now being asked to scale the commercial layer on top of it — two jobs that require different capacity, different ownership structures, and different operating rhythms.
02 · Market framing
The company's 2026 guidance came in 1.5% below analyst expectations. Management's credibility with the Street depends on demonstrating that VAPS, enterprise verticals, and digital self-service are delivering the promised revenue offset to volume headwinds. The next four quarters are the proof window. The product and marketing initiatives that close the execution gaps are not three-year transformation projects — they are bounded, measurable moves that either produce results within that window or do not.
03 · Executive thesis
The 2026 growth thesis does not require a strategic pivot. It requires execution. Drive VAPS from 17% toward 20–25% of total revenue. Win mid-to-high single-digit growth in enterprise accounts across data centers and power generation. Unlock the self-service and digital ordering layer that makes both moves scalable without proportional headcount growth. CPQ is actively being revamped (~30% through scope, intent to expose self-serve to customers). The CTO is three to four months into the role and actively shaping how technology and digital will operate. That timing creates a specific window where an outside operator focused on the customer-facing self-service layer and VAPS attach measurement could accelerate the work that matters most commercially.
04 · Root causes
- 01
VAPS digital attach has no baseline and no named owner
the executive sponsor confirmed VAPS digital attach is a real question and CPQ is being revamped. What does not yet exist is a distinct metric tracking digital vs rep-assisted attach, or a named owner accountable for improving that number as the digital capability comes online. Establishing the baseline and giving it a home on a scorecard is the first move that makes everything else measurable.
- 02
Marketing is rebuilding from two to three years of leadership instability
Four to five different leaders, agency spend that tripled, ROI moved backwards. the executive sponsor described the current digital experience as 'very fragmented with a lot of friction.' The next mandate — vertical-specific demand gen with named pipeline targets and lifecycle programs driving in-life VAPS expansion — is categorically harder than brand consolidation. It requires program architecture being assembled on top of a team that is still finding its footing.
- 03
Vertical opportunity has prerequisites that are not yet fully in place
The $1B underpenetrated vertical opportunity is real and the growth signals in data centers and power generation are compelling. Realizing the modeled revenue uplift may depend on vertical-specific VAPS bundles and codified solution packages beyond solution pages, dedicated marketing programs with named pipeline owners, CPQ flows that can express vertical configurations cleanly, and lifecycle programs that grow wallet share inside enterprise accounts over time.
- 04
Three influence vectors create roadmap-expansion pressure on a lean team
the sponsor's product team, corporate strategy, and divisional field leadership all pull on a lean central team covering seven-plus product categories. the executive sponsor acknowledged the company is 'a bit bogged down by corporate bureaucracy in the typical evolution that comes with scale.' The structural pressure is toward a roadmap that absorbs inputs rather than forcing the trade-offs a constrained team needs to stay focused.
05 · Operating problems
- 01
Portal is billing/document, not commercial
The July 2024 portal delivered billing and document self-service well. Configure / quote / order / modify / expand is the next frontier — and is where digital VAPS attach gets earned at activation rather than retrofitted after lease signing.
- 02
Lifecycle marketing is at onboarding and billing only
No clearly automated mid-lease expansion trigger or rep-independent renewal sequence today. In-life VAPS revenue per active unit is not a metric anyone owns on a scorecard. That is exactly where the highest-leverage growth lives.
- 03
Vertical packaging assembled deal-by-deal
Data centers and power generation are pursued through enterprise sales relationships rather than codified solution packages expressed in CPQ. Every deal rebuilds bundles, complex configurations, and pricing from scratch.
- 04
Salesforce admin/sys-impl vs product-and-commercial-strategy seam unclear
The boundary between product catalog ownership and CPQ delivery is where execution friction accumulates. A senior product operator at that seam, co-owning the configure/quote/order roadmap and driving the business case for CPQ and portal investments, can close the gap between how VAPS bundles are defined and how fast they appear in the digital channel.
06 · Organizational readiness
CTO is approximately three to four months into the role, actively shaping how the technology and digital organization will operate going forward. Marketing was formally added to the sponsor's scope in October 2025 with a Senior Director of Growth Marketing, a Commercial Growth Plays Manager, and vertical solution pages for data centers and distribution as the early building blocks. Conversion rate optimization was named as a specific and active focus alongside the CTO. The team has the awareness and the building blocks. The outside operator's value is in helping the highest-leverage pieces move faster than that pace allows on its own.
07 · Product leadership mandate
- Establish a baseline for VAPS digital attach and give it a home on a scorecard with a named owner.
- Sit at the CPQ and configure/quote/order seam — co-own the roadmap, drive the business case for CPQ and portal investments, close the gap between bundle definition and digital availability.
- Build vertical solution ownership for data centers and power generation — codify the specific VAPS bundles, complex configurations, and pricing into CPQ as repeatable vertical templates.
- Help build lifecycle marketing as a managed revenue program — trigger architecture, business case for CRM and automation investment, KPI structure around in-life VAPS revenue per unit and renewal rate by segment.
- Connect three AI bets directly to 2026 commercial outcomes: VAPS Attach Recommender in CPQ, In-life Expansion Propensity and Lifecycle Triggers, Fleet Mix Optimization for high-value assets.
- Help force the portfolio trade-offs that protect execution focus — a capacity-constrained roadmap where some things are explicitly cut, with reasoning documented and communicated.
08 · The first 90 days
Days 1–30 · Map the Seams
Establish the baselines
Meet with VP of Digital and Customer Applications, the interim holder of Sales Systems, and the IT leads for SAP and Salesforce. Get a single documented answer to three questions: current VAPS attach rate by channel (digital vs rep-assisted), who owns the configure/quote/order roadmap and how priorities are set, current portal capability for in-life VAPS modifications. Parallel: sit with the five divisional SVPs individually to listen, not present.
Days 31–60 · Own the First Metrics
Drive the first decisions
By Day 60: VAPS digital attach metric exists with baseline and named owner on a scorecard. CPQ governance gap has a named owner (interim or permanent). One vertical (data centers or power gen) has a documented solution package expressed in CPQ rather than assembled from scratch by reps. Lifecycle marketing architecture defined: lease stages mapped, trigger events identified, three highest-ROI automation plays scoped with business cases (renewal, mid-lease expansion, in-life upsell).
Days 61–90 · Deliver Compound Wins
First AI-assisted commercial application in delivery
By Day 90: at least one AI-assisted commercial application scoped and in delivery — VAPS attach recommendation engine in CPQ or propensity model for in-life expansion fed into marketing automation. Direct uses of data already in SAP and CRM, scoped to a specific revenue outcome with a clear owner and a measurable KPI. Second deliverable: a capacity-constrained product and marketing roadmap for the next 12 months where the prioritization math is explicit.
09 · Metrics to watch
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
VAPS digital attach (bps uplift) The growth thesis depends on driving VAPS from 17% toward 20–25%. Without a digital channel baseline, the investment has no performance signal to manage against. | Tracked separately from rep-assisted attach with quarterly baseline progression |
Vertical pipeline contribution Realizes the $1B vertical opportunity by replacing deal-by-deal assembly with repeatable templates. | Data centers and power gen with named pipeline owners and codified CPQ packages within 6 months |
In-life VAPS revenue per active unit Lifecycle marketing maturity. Where the highest-leverage growth lives today. | On a scorecard, reviewed monthly, with a named owner |
Portal commercial action rate Tells you the portal moved from billing surface to commercial engine. | Configure / modify / expand actions completed without rep assist trending up quarter over quarter |
10 · Risks & mitigations
CPQ rebuild prioritizes internal rep functionality and defers customer-facing self-service
MitigationCo-ownership of the remaining 70% of CPQ scope with explicit sequencing for customer-facing flows. Governance model spanning Product, Sales Systems, and IT documented.
Marketing rebuild gets pulled back into brand work instead of vertical demand gen
MitigationPipeline ownership by sector named explicitly. Lifecycle program business cases tied to measurable VAPS expansion outcomes, not awareness metrics.
Roadmap absorbs all three influence vectors and dilutes execution
MitigationCapacity-constrained roadmap with explicit cuts. Reasoning for what gets cut documented and communicated to corporate, product, and divisional stakeholders.
11 · Why now
The company's 2026 revenue thesis has a 12-month window to prove itself. Management's credibility with the Street depends on demonstrating VAPS, enterprise verticals, and digital self-service are delivering the promised revenue offset to volume headwinds. The CTO is three to four months in and shaping how technology and digital will operate. CPQ is mid-build with intent to expose self-serve to customers through 2026. The timing is right for an outside operator who can accelerate that work without requiring an org redesign to get started.