Inching Ahead

Thirty-eight point seven percent of relationships we have studied have entered the positive spiral and have started slowly to improve their performance. They cover a span of situations. At the lower end they have stopped fighting and are now rubbing along because the alternative is too painful. In the middle there are organisations that are fairly efficient but are unable or unwilling to put in the extra effort to do better. At the upper end alliances have begun to overcome internal and external difficulties and have the motivation to become more successful. 

 “The relationship could deliver so much more so it is worth fighting to save.” (Customer)

 “We attended an awayday and bottomed out many problems. Sometimes we need to force these discussions to clear the air.“  (Supplier)

Their situation looks like this:

 “Relationships characterised by co-operation based upon the pragmatic need to overcome normal supply chain operating difficulties. Culture-matching appears to have taken place which has engendered a sense of ‘being in the same boat’.  Only average returns may be expected i.e. 1+1=3.”

A common feature of ‘inching ahead’ relationships will be a lack of consistent relationship management. There will be pockets of clarity, often at the top, with considerable variation within the rest of the organisations. Enthusiastic individuals at the lower levels may be frustrated because ‘obvious improvements’ are not supported. Furthermore, progress is often disrupted by constant re-organisations and staff churn which upset accountability and relationship- building efforts and generally get in the way of introducing new ideas. Innovation is thus relatively weak and it is often only possible to generate localised, short-term improvement initiatives in the relationship.

 These relationships do get things done and are often long-lived. Their senior staff accept the need to improve cooperation and deal constructively with problems. But, when fire-fighting and problems arise, joint behaviours go to the wall. Despite this, a mutual respect for the other side’s problems and achievements and the way they sometimes have to do things that run counter to the partnership, are accepted. They have the reached the state of efficient equilibrium where they are making some progress but there is potential for much greater returns.

 “We respect them as an organisation they have their own challenges to face.”

 The secret to improving ‘inching ahead’ relationships is a more systemic approach to relationship management. Larger companies may have invested in a dedicated alliance function while smaller firms have given a senior manager the additional responsibility of overseeing partnerships. This role should not be dominated by a particular department e.g. commercial vendor management, nor should it be diffused across a number of departments that have a ‘finger in the relationship pie’. It needs to have a central perspective where it can inform and be informed by strategic direction at Board level. This will need to be supported by a purpose-designed target operating model such as the one described in practical, step-by-step fashion in our book Implementing and Managing Collaborative Relationships. Purchase before 16 December 2022 using this code  BPM87D8NL for a 40% discount.