Business Alliances Merit Closer ExaminationBusiness Alliances Merit Closer Examination

Today's strategic partners might not be tomorrow's business associates. Companies have to tread a fine line between moving relationships forward while protecting themselves should associations alter.

The IT landscape will continue to change rapidly this year as businesses get more focused on selecting a handful of strategic partners to help drive down costs, integrate technologies that provide significant business advantage or productivity gains, and aggressively look for applications that can be shifted to more-flexible and cost-effective platforms, says Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Computer (see "CEO Visions: Collaboration Equals Innovation"). Helping companies improve collaborative strategies may even fuel IT investment.

A recent survey by Optimize magazine lends weight to this idea. Of the 250 sites surveyed about their collaborative-business strategies, nearly three in five use collaborative technologies to work with suppliers or business partners. Sixty percent of the study's respondents support a centralized approach to collaboration. In theory, centralization enables a more-uniform approach to exchanging resources and information with suppliers and business partners while also promoting the use of established tools and business processes.

Supporting IT efforts to improve supplier and business-partner collaboration isn't without challenges. Most supply chains have an unequal balance of power, and not all suppliers and business partners are ready to collaborate. Besides those issues, IT executives also face underfunded projects, overly complex processes, under-utilization of collaborative tools, and insufficient training. At most companies, collaborative employee and customer initiatives also are high priorities.

What single aspect of improving ties with suppliers or business partners concerns you the most? Let us know at the address below.

Helen D'Antoni
Senior Editor, Research
[email protected]

Progress Report
To what extent has your company implemented its collaborative tools and initiatives with suppliers or business partners?

Most companies have yet to maximize their collaborative efforts with suppliers and business partners. One in five sites collaborating with suppliers or business partners reports having the appropriate tools and business processes in production. Four in five sites say their efforts are somewhat or not at all implemented.

Collaborative Rewards
What benefits does your company receive as a result of its collaborative initiatives with suppliers or business partners?

Although supplier or business-partner collaboration at most companies remains a work in progress, some businesses are reaping compelling rewards for their efforts. Benefits include better communication and feedback and improved productivity and decision making. Three in four sites also report a rise in customer retention, while seven in 10 sites have boosted their profit margins because of collaborative gains from improving and opening business and IT processes to suppliers and business partners.

Added Assistance
Does your company have a formal plan to motivate suppliers or business partners to participate in its collaborative efforts?

The perils of sharing competitive intelligence are as worrisome to suppliers and business partners as they are to companies willing to engage in collaborative practices with them. To ensure the successful implementation of collaborative processes, many IT executives are fleshing out plans that spell out their intentions to suppliers and business partners. Of sites working with suppliers and business partners, 44% have a formal plan to encourage collaborative teamwork.

What's In The Way
What are the most significant obstacles experienced in your company's quest to maximize collaborative technologies and initiatives?

Many companies have faced the enormous security challenge of the Slammer worm and the ExploreZip.E E-mail worm. Research firm Computer Economics estimates that damages from Slammer alone will exceed $750 million worldwide. As every electronic communication holds the potential of a cyberthreat, security concerns rank as a significant obstacle in maximizing the use of collaborative tools and procedures. Half of business-technology executives at companies with collaborative initiatives say cybersecurity is a key challenge to collaboration.