Newsletter - July 08
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'Poisonous' is not a word many would choose to describe a
relationship. But a recent conference in Prague gave GBPA chairman Philip
Anderson some food for thought. Philip recently presented at two Pharmaceutical conferences,
including one in Prague where he gave the keynote presentation on
'Achieving successful collaborative partnering'. Philip drew on recent
GBPA Discoveries to reflect on the role of sponsors and
relationship managers in enabling organisations develop more trusting,
collaborative, value-adding relationships. In
another session, a presenter reflected on the loss of public trust in
clinical trials - vital for enabling new drugs to be tested successfully
before being made available to the wider public. Of course, trust and
confidence is undermined when such trials go wrong, particularly when the
size of dose consumed proves to be toxic. This brings to mind the famous
Paracelsus quote "All things are poison and nothing is without poison,
only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." Even too much water
can be deadly! And so it is in business partnering relationships. They all have
the potential to become poisonous if we fail to tend them, and get the
balance and type of interaction wrong. Understanding how best to connect
with each of our key customers, suppliers and partners is vital in order
to build the trust and confidence that characterises a truly healthy
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Many organisations in the West now have significant partnering,
customer and supplier relationships with organisations in India and China,
and vice versa. This has led GBPA to undertake two significant
Discovery projects. One focused on partnering with companies in
India, and the other with companies in China. The objective is to discover
the key challenges that Indian, Chinese and Western companies experience
when partnering with each other, and what they regard as the key enablers
to partnership success. GBPA will be pleased to hear from any readers of this eNews that
have experience of partnering with companies in India and China - and from
readers in India or China that have experience of important customer,
supplier or partnership relationships with organisations in Europe, the UK
or US. To
find out more about how you can become involved and gain access to the
research, contact Magda Pansegrouw mpansegrouw@gbpalliance.com | ||
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At
the most recent GBPA evening event, on 24 June, hosted by Northern Trust
in London, the benefits of a collaborative approach were explored. Some
unusual value was identified - from boxes of mangoes from an Indian
partner, to canapés with the Prime Minister in London! Perhaps more usually, significant benefits can accrue when
collaborative partners are flexible with each other in exploring and
meeting customer requirements. Participants described many different ways
in which the benefits of collaboration have been measured. This included
Laing O'Rourke, who has managed to drive 1% to the bottom line in major
construction projects through collaborating to achieve integrated project
insurance. Other examples of how the benefits of collaboration have been
measured included survival and increased customer
satisfaction.
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The next GBPA Special Interest Forums (SIFs) in London are morning
sessions (09:00 to 11:30), with the following topics:
To
register for either of these SIFs, contact Magda Pansegrouw mpansegrouw@gbpalliance.com
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At
the recent GBPA Innovation Journey event, participants mapped their
innovation approval and pipeline processes, and then considered possible
metrics for each stage. Process metrics which were regarded as being
particularly useful included: Average time from idea approval to
implementation; Number of ideas approved and number implemented;
Stage-gate pass rates; Value of the innovation pipeline. Output metrics
included: Number of new products or services launched; Revenue from new
products or services; ROI on innovation spend; Number of new
customers. The next event in this series on the Innovation Journey is on 9
September, when the focus will be on how to generate and evaluate
innovative ideas. To
register for this morning event in London, contact Magda Pansegrouw mpansegrouw@gbpalliance.com | ||
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At
the most recent GBPA event in the Netherlands, hosted by HP in Amstelveen
on 17 June, GBPA facilitated exploration of how to move supplier
relationships from transactional, through collaborative to strategic
partnerships. Key issues and challenges that were surfaced included:
Procurement KPIs can act against Operational KPIs; Lack of responsiveness
of large organisations; Ability to invest in a relationship can limit
opportunity; Squeezing your suppliers on cost can prevent them responding
to your needs. GBPA shared its findings on what it takes to progress though the
phases on the Collaborative Journey and how GBPA supports organisations on
this journey across the relational spectrum. Participants noted that
suppliers have to prove themselves in the transactional space before being
able to progress in the relationship spectrum - you can't parachute into a
trusting strategic relationship. However, if you establish a strong
collaborative relationship you are well placed to step into a strategic
relationship as the need arises. | ||
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In
today's global business environment, we are continuously working across
geographical boundaries. Therefore, it is more important than ever for us
to be able to understand each other to create good business
relationships. In
this session in London on 17 September, we will explore how easy or
difficult it is to establish a common understanding, and how the adoption
of particular organisational terminology creates
barriers. To
register for this evening event, contact Sue O'Connor soconnor@gbpalliance.com | ||
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Collaborative. Discovery-oriented. Teamworker. Consultative.
Relational. Constructive. Innovative. Curious. Networked. Can you bring these attributes to GBPA? We are looking for
individuals to join us as part of the full time team or as valued
associates in developing GBPA in the UK, the Netherlands, India and
China. If
you would like to explore how you could contribute to GBPA, please contact
GBPA CEO Amanda Crouch acrouch@gbpalliance.com
initially by email and tell us something about yourself and your
aspirations. We look forward to hearing from you.
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We look forward to the participation of members and guests in the GBPA programme during the coming months. As always, please contact Sue O'Connor to feedback any comments on this eNews, for more information or to register for an event. soconnor@gbpalliance.com
With best wishes from the GBPA team
Global Business Partnership Alliance email: soconnor@gbpalliance.com
phone: +
44 (0)207 194 8111
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