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Implementing & Managing Collaborative Relationships
A Practical Guide for Managers
by Andrew Humphries & Linda McComie, Routledge 2022, ISBN 9781032117508, 172 pages
In today’s competitive, globalized marketplace, the provision of services and products is a result of teamwork between several organizations. Relationships between organizations of any size are strategically important. If your supplier falls down at a crucial moment, it can have survival implications for your company or for other members of your supply chain. The management of these strategic assets cannot be left to chance and the same attention that you devote to finance, operations, HR, etc. must be applied to business relationships. Despite this, very few organizations focus on this or are even aware that they need to do it. Those that do are unsure how to do it. This is not helped by business schools that focus on either customer relationship management (CRM) or supplier relationship management (SRM) rather than collaboration between partners (Enterprise Relationship Management).
This book is a unique “go-to” guide for all managers who should be looking at collaboration with other organizations as a new way to attain outstanding results that would not be achieved on their own. Currently, there is nothing else of this nature on the market.
The book identifies relationship management as a pivotal management function. It presents a comprehensive, flexible, end-to-end management process that can be easily incorporated into the existing management structures. Further, they describe the crucial role of the relationship manager who is at the heart of the system and provides the drive to achieve high performance. Any company can tailor this discipline to the needs of its organization – whether an SME or a multi-national company selecting a new partner or managing existing relationships.
This book covers the decision of whether or not to partner and with whom, the creation of an appropriate system of governance, the transition to operations, managing performance for continuous improvement, and, finally, controlled wind-up of the partnership.
Throughout, diagrams to signpost the sequence of activities, checklists of important actions, and job-related worksheets are provided. In addition, there are numerous case studies in a variety of industries and public sectors that will be used as illustrations. Altogether these make this book ideally suitable for experienced managers as well as for training and induction purposes.
Essentially, Implementing and Managing Collaborative Relationships: A Practical Guide for Managers shows managers how they can create and operate a simple and effective system of Enterprise Relationship Management that will enable them to maximize efficiency, resilience, innovation, and profitability.
“It is well recognised that a collaborative relationship will outperform an arm’s length adversarial one. Unfortunately, there are also many examples of failed collaborative relationships that failed to deliver on their promise. The authors of this book quite rightly identify that collaborating with organisational partners takes more than good intentions. It takes a well-planned and communicated approach that is ideally jointly developed between the parties. In this book, you will find a step-by-step guide with worksheets and tools that you and your intended partner can use to develop a joint plan, an execution strategy, and an ongoing relationship management process to keep you on track. It also recognises that the best time to work on your exit plan from the relationship is at its beginning when the relationship is at its strongest. I would recommend this book to anyone who is either engaged in developing or already involved in collaborative relationships as a tool to deliver on the promise that your relationship can deliver.”
Andrew Downard, Ph.D., CEO, Ci-Advisory, Australia
“Implementing & Managing Collaborative Relationships is an invaluable resource for anybody interested in managing business relationships. Humphries and McComie present an authoritative account of how collaborative relationships work and why they don’t work. The practical tools, such as worksheets and checklists, provide a hands-on structure to ensure successful relationship management.”
Dr. Carlos Mena, Nike Professor of Supply Chain Management, Portland State University, USA
“The concept that collaboration delivers better results is not new, but focus on short-term wins frequently stands in the way. The global pandemic has provided a wake-up call, an appreciation that ‘we are in this together’. With more than 60% of commercial executives now pushing for collaborative relationships, this practical ‘how-to’ guide could not be more timely.”
Professor Tim Cummins, University of Leeds School of Law, President, World Commerce and Contracting
“The successive shocks of the pandemic, microchip supply and now emerging inflationary pressures have challenged supply chains more than at any time in the last 20 years. Resilience has now become a key distinguishing factor between organizations, and those that have built the strongest collaborative relationships and networks are best placed to maximize profitability in 2022 and beyond.”
Mike Reilly MBE, CEO, ETher NDE Ltd., Baugh & Weedon Ltd., Alban NDE LLC
Enterprise Relationship Management A Paradigm for Alliance Success
by Andrew Humphries & Richard Gibbs Gower 2015, ISBN: 978-1-4724-2908-7, 234 pages
Richard Gibbs and Andrew Humphries provide a practical guide to the management process and skill sets needed for co-ordinating the business activities that are essential to creating a competitive advantage. Their eight partnership types developed from earlier research help readers adapt their relationship strategies to the different opportunities that present themselves and focus their greatest time and resources on the collaborations that offer the greatest value. The text includes an explanation of the context for collaboration, the principles and drivers for success, as well as techniques for appraisal and management.
This is an excellent overview of the tools, techniques and philosophies behind an enterprise’s successful management of its strategically important relationships. Enterprise Relationship Management will help ensure your organisation has the requisite ability to form, manage, retire and exit partnerships in a fluid and agile way. Whether you are in sales or marketing or finance and operations, this book will show you how to get the most from your partnerships.
“This is an insightful book that unpacks the dynamics of effective ‘enterprise relationship management’ and provides the reader with the tools, techniques, and procedures needed to optimise twenty-first-century supply chains.”
Air Vice Marshal Graham Howard, Assistant Chief of UK Defence Staff (Logistics Operations)
Strategic Alliances & Marketing Partnerships Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Collaboration & Partnering
by Richard Gibbs & Andrew Humphries, Kogan Page 2009, ISBN: 978-0-7494-5484-5, 235 pages
Business partnerships can be characterized in 8 types the G+H Partnering Types. Know your type and you know how to improve its performance. Myers Briggs did it for personality profiling, G+H now do it for alliances. This book takes you step by step through the maze of performance characteristics that make up your partnership profile. You can now take timely and effective action to achieve your objectives.
“This book provides vital and practical understanding”
Anne Mulcahy, President & CEO Xerox Corporation
“Original and thought-provoking”
Martin Christopher, Emeritus Professor, Cranfield School of Management
“These boys are on to something here”
Air Vice-Marshal Matt Wiles CBE, Director General Joint Supply Chain, UK Ministry of Defence
Collaborative Change Creating High Performance Partnerships & Alliances
by Andrew Humphries & Richard Gibbs Andrew Humphries & Richard Gibb 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4538-1608-0, 245 pages
In their second book, Humphries and Gibbs look at how the need for constant organisational improvements and the increase in partnering come together in what they describe as Collaborative Change.
This book looks at the underlying concepts and models that can be applied and critically draws heavily on personal experience to shed light on how such change can be executed through high performing partnerships. This ‘experience’ is related in many case topical studies which include war-fighting in Iraq, team management on a husky sled and operating global, virtual teams in the British Civil Service.
There is a wealth of academic rigor and thought in this book backed by many hands-on examples of how to manage change and partnering effectively. Contributing others include Tim Barnsley, Tim Cummins, Andrew Downard, Graham Haines, Peter Hunter, David Hawkins, Anthony Kesten and Chris Markey.
“Partnering and alliances is a subject that for many years has been in the too difficult category. This book tackles the ‘elephant in the room’.”
Philip Oliver, Group Marketing Director, Fujitsu
Performance Measurement in the Management of Food Supply Chain Relationships
Andrew Humphries & Linda McComie
Chapter 2 in: Delivering Performance in Food Supply Chains edited by Carlos Mena & Graham Stevens – Woodhead Publishing Ltd 2010, ISBN: 978-1-84569-471-5
Building Relationships that Create Value
Richard Wilding & Andrew Humphries
Chapter 3 in: Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment: A new business model for peak performance in enterprise supply chains across all geographies by John Gattorna – Gower Publishing Ltd 2009, ISBN: 978-0-566-08822-3
