Author Archives: GeorgeTyler

Should Your Next Business Partner Be Your Rival?

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Although many businesses focus on outperforming competitors by taking advantage of their competitive advantages, many would actually benefit by forming a strategic alliance and turning their competitor into their business partner. While it may not be the most conventional approach, businesses have figured out that in some situations it’s better to focus on growing the entire market, rather than fight for the largest market share of a small market.

A recent Harvard Business Review article discusses why this strategy has emerged Continue reading →

Goes Together Like Peas and Carrots

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There are many things that go together so well that many people think of them that way. Such as peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, salt and pepper, or spaghetti and meatballs. Value Added Resellers (VAR) can take your company to the next level by creating a partnership that fits together just like those famous pairs. By pairing your products with products from another company, you enter into a win/win situation. Both companies are able to increase sales by offering an improved product, as well as accessing a customer base from each company. Continue reading →

The “Eight I’s” in Strategic Alliances

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There may be no “I” in team, but there is certainly an “I” in strategic alliance. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, author Rosabeth Moss Kanter explains her “Eight I’s That Make We” concept. The article ironically plays with the well-known phrase and suggests that in order to be successful, a company should actually concentrate on the following “I’s” when in a strategic alliance: Continue reading →

5 Ways to Collaborate With a Fellow Business

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Forming company-client bonds is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Keeping customers coming back will provide you with stability and allow you room for potential growth. Collaboration with fellow businesses is just as important, because it allows you to develop relationships with companies that you can depend on. Continue reading →

Channels of Distribution Best Practices

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The channels of distribution best practices utilize the warehouse facility as quickly as possible. Moving through the distribution center needs to happen with haste and warehouses are now being referred to as throughput centers. Every center, no matter what it is called, needs a best practices system in place.

1. Use an Advanced Shipping Notification (ASN)

This system finds Continue reading →

Preserving Trust in Strategic Alliances with Alliance Management

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The role of an alliance manager in a strategic alliance is important during its formation because of the complexity of the agreements made. Then it becomes increasingly important later in the strategic alliance after it starts to lose its shine. It’s crucial to provide as much stability as possible, starting with keeping the same personnel throughout its duration. It is particularly difficult to maintain a high level of trust in the business relationship, and therefore, the role of the alliance manager is to sustain the level of trust by providing stability for all parties involved.

Because of the initial complexity when forming a strategic alliance, Continue reading →

Assigning Responsibilities between Business Partners

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There are many factors that demand attention when considering a business partner, but one of the most consistent pressing concerns is the delegation of work and responsibility, or more simply, “who’s going to do what?” Another company may seem like a good candidate for a business partner in theory, but in reality, the delegation of work may make the business partnership undesirable.

Because of the internal strife that may result from Continue reading →

Alliance Performance Coaching: CEO Partnership Support

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We all have a basic understanding of these three words.
Performance is the presentation of work, generally applied to an expected level of success. Coaching is mentoring and/or apprenticeship by instruction, encouragement and example. Put this all together for the corporate world and you have the following definition: The mentoring of executive leadership in forming strategic partnerships between mutually motivated companies to effectively raise profits and lower losses for each partner.

At a time when “coaching” is the go-to word for any form of guidance and “expert” advice, from Little League to self-help gurus, it’s important to Continue reading →

How Star Alliance helps Airlines get Ahead

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The airline world is no stranger to corporate business alliances. These agreements mean that businesses cooperate substantially, and in addition, they make it less likely that one will push the other out of market share. In fact, in the airline world, these business alliances have become so popular that there are a few major known names.

One of the biggest is Star Alliance. Continue reading →

Why Joint Ventures are Less Risky than Acquisitions

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While acquisitions and joint ventures are both viable options for expanding businesses, they are both considerably different and depending on a company’s particular situation, one is after significantly more beneficial than the other. Joint ventures are commonly seen as less risky than acquisitions due to the information barriers during the acquisition process. In addition to being less risky, Continue reading →

Power Partners Create a Foundation for Businesses

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Keeping a business growing requires thinking about unconventional solutions. Sometimes when seeking a solution, it takes an angle from the other side to give a clearer light on the problem. Being power partners with another business is a great strategy to give businesses a new look at common problems.

Power partners are a great way to secure a consistent revenue flow to insure continued success. Continue reading →

3 Steps to Find Alliance Partners For A Competitive Advantage

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As a business owner, you have probably spent a lot of money in marketing campaigns to grow your brand and your business. Do you have the feeling that there is just something missing that is preventing you from getting the exposure you need and the competitive advantage you deserve? Have you ever considered seeking another business to form a partnership?

The key is to find another business that does things you cannot do to combine your strengths to create something very unique and valuable. Let’s look at some important 3 considerations in selecting business partners to give a competitive advantage over time:

Continue reading →

Collaboration: It’s More Than Just Tools

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Collaboration – What do you think of when you hear the word? If you’re like many, you think of internet sites and software programs that make it easier for team members to communicate – whether they’re sitting in cubicles right next to each other or at desks in different parts of the world. But that’s only part of the equation.

In his book The Culture of Collaboration, Evan Rosen points out that: ….. tools and technologies never create collaboration. Culture creates collaboration.  Continue reading →

3 Benefits of Joint Ventures

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Launch a business from scratch with Joint Ventures (JV). Countless new business owners are launching new businesses using JV alone, proving to be the active element as to why they experienced success in their business. A partnership between two companies with similar assets is simply leveraged by a “joint venture.” When working through JV ventures, it is important to partner with them and not compete with them.

For instance, you may own a vitamin website and then contact the owner of a wellness website. See if you can leverage marketing your vitamins to the customers of their wellness site. They will say either “yes” or “no.” If the answer is “yes,” then it’s worth every effort when you start to build up your back office easily and experience rapid traffic and sales.

Most recently, Ford and GM have created a Joint Venture to develop new transmissions with 9 speeds for front week drive cars. They are jointly developing a new product for both companies and it won’t be in cars until 2016. Continue reading →

How Value Added Resellers (VAR) Make It Work

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Becoming a Value Added Reseller (VAR) is a lucrative way to add value and specialization to your product while saving yourself the development costs of manufacturing and developing the add-ons yourself. We’d like to offer you some tips in making this selling program work for you.

The most important thing is to establish yourself Continue reading →

Two Steps to Use Business Alliances to Expand Your Service Offerings

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Whether you are in accounting, finances, sales, consulting or another service industry, to grow your small business takes creativity. Using strategic business alliances allows you to develop a mutually beneficial relationship to expand your service offerings and increase your brand awareness.

Seek Vendors with a Shared Target Market

It may seem counterproductive to build a relationship with a business that shares your target market. You are not sleeping with the enemy. Continue reading →

Alliance Management Requires Performance Management

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The purpose of a business alliance is to bring two or more companies together to achieve defined strategic goals. The benefit is to reduce risk, increase rewards, and leverage resources. But how do you know if you’re successful? Alliance management requires you to assess performance. 

Over ten years ago, McKinsey & Company reviewed the financial and strategic outcomes of hundreds of business alliances. Their assessment was that the overall success rate was slightly higher than 50 percent. Who knew? Not the executives, according to the study.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to your business alliances Continue reading →

Business Alliances Provide Stability with Reduced Risk

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A business alliance is a tool used by businesses to stabilize a market so that each company benefits. There are several types of business alliances with each specialized to effect certain conditions for different scenarios. A business should consider the needs before entering an alliance so that the correct type can be addressed for the best and most beneficial results.

The types of alliances include: Continue reading →