Readiness Assessment

Purpose: Determine how well an organization is Strategically & Attitudinally poised to initiate a Full-Scale Alliance Program

Key Issues Addressed

• Senior Management's Commitment regarding alliances as a Powerful strategy for Success
• Middle Management's Understanding of Alliance Principles for Success
• Business Development’s Methodology & Support for Alliances Formation
• History of Success or Failure of Alliances and JVs
• Senior Management’s Comfort with Shared Control
• Legal, Supply, & Marketing’s experience & understanding of Alliance Relationships
• Review Current Policy and Program Directives for
  Alliance Impact
• Alignment of Metrics & Rewards to Strategic Goals
• Benchmark Current Methods & Practices of Forming & Managing External Relationships
• Level of Vision & Expectation for Potential Impact of External Relationships

 Capability Assessment 

Purpose: Determine whether your internal team has the Skills and Abilities to initiate and carry out Effective Alliance Formation & Management

Key Issues Addressed

• Examine skills level of key personnel against professional alliance development standards
• Business Integration
• Cultural Integration
• Relationship Management
• Alliance Metrics
• Best Practices
• Trust Building
• Partner Advocacy
• Life Cycle Management
• Assess staffing requirements for carrying out strategic alliance program goals
• Determine budget requirements for attaining key alliance program goals
• Determine if sufficient alliance champions exist to support & sustain anticipated alliances
• Assess HR’s understanding of alliances to support  the recruitment, selection, retention, and career paths of alliance management
• Analyze Gaps/Consequences between current capabilities and future requirements

 Alliance Health Diagnostic

Purpose: Determine how well one or more alliances are functioning based on Benchmarked Measurements of Best Practice Success Dimensions

Key Issues Addressed (Example)

• Strategic Fit:
• Future Vision & Value Proposition
• Competitive Advantage
• Customer’s Needs
• Chemistry - Cultural Fit
• Trust, Culture, & Teamwork
• Quality of Relationships
• Alignment of Values
• Leadership Commitment
• Operational Fit
• Systems Integration
• Performance Processes
• Integrative Mechanisms
• Fast Time Implementation
• Alignment of Systems, Processes, Structures
• Priority Alignment
• Innovation
• Cost Impacts
• Operational Efficiency
• Strategic Return on Investment
• Financial Return
• Market Impact
• Innovative Capacity
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Competitive Advantage

• Survey Feedback & Action Planning to address critical deficiencies

Strategic Portfolio Analysis

Purpose: Examine the full range of Alliances, Acquisitions, Supply & Channel Relationships to determine how well Competitive Advantage is Optimized

Key Issues Addressed

• Alignment of  Current Portfolio to Strategic & Financial Goals
• Becoming “Partner of Choice”
• Developing Innovation Flows from Outside Sources
• Portfolio Impact on Revenues & Profits
• Generate “Invisible” Competitive Advantages
• Criteria for Managing the Build, Buy, Ally Decision
• Creating a Value Chain/Network with key Leverage, Speed  & Power Nodes/Flows
• Mapping the Portfolio against a Value Migration Evolutions
• Handling issues of Multiple Relationships with same company (partner, supplier, customer, & competitor)
• Strategic Scenario Mapping
• Strategies & Stratagems for Unique Competitive Advantage
• Supporting Business Unit Success
• Advanced Positioning in Market Space
• Using Alliances as Prelude to an Acquisition