An alliance or partnership in simple terms mean exchanging of resources between two firms to work out a mutually beneficial objective. The objective can vary from reducing marketing expense to acquiring a user base.
The simplest criteria to qualify partnership is 1+1 should be 3 and not 2. If sides share resources, it could lead to lower costs or higher sales. If sides lean on what each party does best, they can create new products and services.
The lifecycle of Strategic Partnerships:
- Determine the need, clarify what sides want to achieve through the partnership, aiming to identify where the partnership can create new value. Why do sides need a partner in the first place? What are their goals and how does the partnership fit their business strategies?
- Choose partners wisely, setting up the right conditions for the collaboration. What do sides offer? Can sides agree on how to work together?
- Set the terms of the deal: Nuts and bolts of the deal shaping the way sides will work together in the future.
- Manage the partnership over its whole life-cycle. This is something that will need to be taken care of across the duration of the partnership.
- Split dividends. Meaning to keep an eye on the benefits that each organization receives from the partnership.
- Governance Structure- Who will be stakeholders ( Internal & External)
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