The pressure to sell is greater than ever in these austerity driven times because the more a company can sell the better it would be able to not only survive but also compete in an environment that has driven down profit margins to the bearest minimum.  So where possible companies are finding that strategic alliances or strategic networks can also be fertile hunting grounds for sales generation.

Consider the case of Tom tom and Aple, until now Tom Tom has used the iOS App Store as platform to sell its products and profitably so, I might add. But, this postion is now compromised because over time other brands selling the same product have also joined the market place and have come with the benefit of learning from Tom Tom’s experiences which has enhanced their competitive strategies to levels where they are out selling Tom Tom with better products and lower prices. Tom Tom have had to look around for further opportunities to sell their product and realised that developments on the iOS have created sales opportunities. Apple have ditched the Google Maps for their own maps app in the next version of the iOS and it has been announced that Tom Tom will supply the maps for the new Apple Maps! The intricacies of the deal havent yet been published but the benefits will not be little especially if the deal pays on units installed and not on a flat fee. Click the link to drink from the source!

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/46081/tomtom-supplies-apple-maps-ios6