Table of Contents
Sample Content
The following excerpt is taken from Chapter 1: Alliance Management. The full
report examines deal maintenance and satisfaction in detail.
Signaling Internal Commitment to Partner Asset
The single most important factor in maintaining partner satisfaction in any
alliance, according to surveyed companies, is valuing the collaborative asset
as much as internally developed products and technologies. Companies with
reputations as partners of choice communicate their equivalent valuation in
soft measures to partners and in hard measures to the rest of the world.
Pharmaceutical companies conduct partnerships to reach beyond what they can do
for themselves; treating partners and their assets with respect follows
directly from this strategic decision.
Company P' s alliance managers are building a culture that treats alliances as
strong strategy components rather than business sidelines. This strategy
involves the following points:
- Build the Culture - The alliance department or group must start building
a culture in which partner products are treated as well as the company' s own.
Company representatives must be trustworthy and straightforward in dealing
with partners
- Encourage Respectful Behavior - Alliance managers set the relationship' s
tone and ensure that other alliance team members adhere to it by treating
partners as equals, attending key meetings, keeping commitments, and meeting
deadlines.
- Communicate About Partner Internally - Company P' s alliance managers
construct a cohesive model of the partner' s business and present it to every
internal team that deals with the alliance, including senior management. These
presentations include information on the partner' s business model, key issues,
pipeline.....
The following excerpt is taken from Chapter 2, Alliance Health and Conflict
Resolution.
Alliance Health Surveys
The most common measurement tool is the alliance health survey, which is
administered at standard times during an alliance' s lifecycle. Alliance health
surveys aid companies in measuring the true progression of collaborative
efforts and, more importantly, in determining how internal and external
stakeholders view their alliances. The survey results also accomplish the
following:
- Ensure that both companies are on the same page regarding standards,
milestones and strategy
- Provide analysis of the effectiveness of the communication between the two
companies
- Quantify the level of trust each company has for the other
- Coordinate strategy to either maintain the current good relations or to
bring the alliance up to that level.
The survey may take significant effort to create, but once created, it only
needs to be slightly adjusted for future deals. For teams seeking outside
help, alliance management vendors supply survey templates and customized
support.
Many companies, however, neglect to establish even this most popular and
simple method of measuring an alliance' s health. As seen in Figure 2.1 [Data
figures appear in full report], only 31% of surveyed companies actually make
use of alliance health surveys. This is because formal alliance health
measurements are generally a product of formal alliance management departments
(see Figure 2.2).
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