Get your business partner aligned

1. “The partnership is two way street. You’re depending
on the partner to supply the expertise you lack”
Cynthia Griffin, American Business Journalist
ENHANCING
BUSINESS PARTNER
ALIGNMENT
Lansana Sakho
Directeur Général
http//www.experts-visions.com
experts@experts-visions.com

2. I spent over 20 years in large multinationals (Coca-Cola, Colgate
Palmolive, Philip Morris, SC Johnson ...) They all have very
challenging business model ….. Business partner (distributors,
bottlers…) is required on the ground…
Strategies & tactics are designed by multinationals (suppliers).
Business partner’s role is transform those tactics into day to day
operational actions under suppliers ‘supervision’ : EXECUTION
To make things happen, you do need basics rules and take into
account the interests of all parties.. Everything is about
ALIGNMENT. Ideas that I’d like would share.

3. THIS IS ABOUT …..
• Relation between suppliers and
business partner
• Business partner’s Alignment within
suppliers’ strategy to facilitate execution
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4. BRUTAL FACTS …..
Usually, suppliers that use ‘intermediate’ to get into
markets do not have capability to fully realise their
potential as their business is constrained by:
A partners’ culture of selling only “what goes fast”
A fragmented ‘partners system’, containing too
many non-aligned partners
A sporadic shortages of production and distribution
capacity & capability
A lack of skilled associates within the suppliers system
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5. For these reasons suppliers
should our focus is on...
DISTRIBUTORS
ARCHITECTURE
INVESTMENT
ALIGNMENT
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6. ALIGNMENT
What We Have Learned
• Alignment means different things to different
people
• From the highest level, System Alignment is one
of the most important topics to spend time on if
you believe that it brings competitive advantage
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7. ALIGNMENT
What undermines Alignment……
• A reluctance to accept that both partners in the
system must make a buck!
• A perception that one side of the partnership is
more effective than the other
• Lack of agreed performance indicators & trust
• Not having shared vision and destination
• Not having shared goals, strategies and plans
• No ongoing dialogue
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8. We’ve determined that what
needed is a simple framework
to operate in…
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9. FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Five key elements of System Alignment.
1.Common
Destination
System
Alignment
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10. Common Destination, Goals and Strategies
GUIDING PRINCIPLES...
Operate with a three-year rolling business plan agreed
upon at all operating levels
Develop that plan together (with the partner)
Execute that plan together ... Together make it happen
Pamojoja tutashinda
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11. FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Five key elements of System Alignment.
1.Common
Destination
2.Clarity on how
System system works
Alignment
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12. Common Destination, Goals and Strategies
GUIDING PRINCIPLES...
Understand our respective but interdependent roles
• The supplier will primarily create demand
• Business partner will primarily fulfill that demand
Business Partner does play a secondary role in creating
demand through in-outlet execution. Whilst the supplier
will not act as “policemen” with the Business Partner,
the plan will be to constantly contribute improving market
execution
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13. FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Five key elements of System Alignment.
1.Common
Destination
2.Clarity on how
System system works
Alignment
3.Supporting
processes
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14. Common Destination, Goals and Strategies
GUIDING PRINCIPLES...
• Operate with shared data
• Conduct joint performance business reviews
• Agree upon common measurement systems
for business performance
• Agree upon capacity and capability
• Reward and incentivise your people in a
similar yet appropriate way
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15. FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Five key elements of System Alignment.
1.Common
Destination
2.Clarity on how
System system works
Alignment
3.Supporting
4.Market
processes
Opportunities
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16. Common Destination, Goals and Strategies
GUIDING PRINCIPLES...
• See opportunities, not problems
• See “where your brand is not”
• Develop plans to take immediate
advantage of opportunities
• EXECUTE, EXECUTE, EXECUTE
those plans -- with a passion
• Do not tolerate competition
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17. FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNMENT SYSTEM
Five key elements of System Alignment.
1.Common
Destination
2.Clarity on how
5.Trust
System system works
Alignment
3.Supporting
4.Market
processes
Opportunities
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18. Common Destination, Goals and Strategies
GUIDING PRINCIPLES...
• Maintain regular dialogue at all levels
• That dialogue should be based on common
objectives, grounded in fact, and conducted
with an openness to each others’ ideas
• Do not have hidden agendas
• Work for your mutual benefit
• Do not be concerned with credit and blame
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19. “The first step in taking a company from good to great
would be to set a new direction, a new vision and strategy
for the company, and then to get business partners
committed and aligned behind that new direction”
Jim Collins ‘Good to Great’
How can Alignment with
your partners enhance
your business results?
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