Collaboration is at the heart of every business success. Long before we start selling we engage with a range of partners, including manufacturers, logistic companies, import and export agents, lenders and investors. Indeed, just about every aspect of a business is in some way dependent on a strategic partnership.

The value of these relationships is well understood by executives. The groundbreaking Grow From the Right Intro study by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and the Business Performance and Innovation (BPI) Network, in collaboration with Powerlinx, reveals that 85 percent of companies view finding strategic partners as essential or important to their business and around 60 percent are focused on developing a strategy for finding strategic partners. For big companies there is an even greater realization of the power of partnerships with more than 20 percent of company assets dedicated to developing and managing these relationships.

Finding Strategic Partners

Unfortunately, while the importance of these agreements is clearly understood, most businesses fail to execute effectively with around 80 percent of companies stating that the vast majority of strategic partnerships fail. As this report discusses, there are a number of reasons for this failure, but one of the most significant challenges is researching and finding strategic partners.

This search and connect process has traditionally been time-consuming and cumbersome. As a result, many businesses give up before they even find a potential match. For those that do make it to the short list stage, failure often derives from poor due diligence and the misalignment of corporate goals and cultures. Even for those organizations that make it to the stage of reaching a formal agreement, the relationships often end up being transactional in nature, depriving both parties of the significant economic benefits that come from a truly successful strategic alliance.

Automated Partner Matching

But as with most business challenges, technology is changing the way we do things. Big data and powerful algorithms are creating radical efficiencies and disrupting the age-old process of business introductions and finding strategic partnerships. Finding and connecting with corporate partners has finally entered the Internet age.

At Powerlinx, we are at the leading edge of this change. Recognizing the limitations of the traditional business advisory model and the significant investment of time required to build successful strategic alliances, we have set out to transform the way businesses find and connect with each other. And at the forefront of our work is making sure that companies connect with only those best placed to deliver a real business outcome. In doing so, we have turned a process that often takes many months with no guarantee of success into one that can take just a matter of weeks and ensures only compatible firms connect.

It is this approach that allowed us to connect a small artisan milk producer in Brooklyn with one of the most recognized food retailers in the United States, resulting in a new distribution agreement; and it is this approach that allowed us to help a ball bearing manufacturer in New England diversify their product and reach new markets on the other side of the world.

In both of these instances – and many others – finding the right match has been critical to a successful outcome. In a world of social networks, simply connecting is too often considered the end of the journey. But successful business outcomes require more than just a connection. What matters is the right connection and that is a function of capability, intent and purpose.

It also requires recognition that the process of finding strategic partners is never really complete. Not only must existing relationships be nurtured but new relationships must be formed as we seek to respond to the ever growing demands and opportunities of our hyper competitive world. It is now a requirement that companies be constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to partner with firms that can help them build a competitive edge in the marketplace. Engaging with a community of like-minded businesses is essential to maintaining an edge over your competitors.

Grow from the Right Intro

“Grow From the Right Intro” explores the power of these relationships and the opportunities that await those that successfully navigate these once treacherous waters. It shines an important light on the challenges many companies have in finding strategic partners and connecting with the right corporate partners and highlights the centrality of these strategic relationships to business success. Powerlinx is pleased to be at the forefront of this important work.

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