Standard Operating Processes for Alliances

© Arka Sengupta ; er.arka.sengupta@gmail.com
Standard Operating Processes for Alliances
CONTENTS
1. WHY ALLIANCES ARE REQUIRED
2. WHY BUSINESS PROCESSES NEEDS TO BE REFRAMED
3. EVALUATE MARKET DEMAND/ CUSTOMER PAIN POINTS AND COMPETITORS
4. UNDERSTANDING WHO THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS ARE IN THE MARKET
5. UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING THE PARTNERS ANALYSIS
6. SOURCING DATA OF PEOPLE TO BE CONNECTED
7. COLLECTING CONTACT DETAILS
8. CONTACTING PROBABLE PARTNER COMPANIES
9. EMAILING THE BUSINESS PROPOSAL
10. FOLLOW UP WITH PROBABLE BUSINESS PARTNERS
11. CONDUCTING MEETINGS
12. MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND MAPPING
13. AGREEMENT PROCESSING
14. DEVELOPMENT AND IT MAPPING BETWEEN BOTH THE ORGANIZATION
15. FINAL DOCUMENTATION

1. Why Strategic Alliances is required
“Strategic” may be one of the most over-used words in business today. This observation is especially valid in the world of alliances, where managers must
distinguish between those alliances that are merely conventional and those that are truly strategic.
As companies gain experience in building alliances, they often find their portfolios ballooning with partnerships. While these partnerships may contribute
value to the firm, not all alliances are in fact strategic to an organization. This is a critical point, since, as this article will explain, those alliances that are truly
strategic must be identified clearly and managed differently than more conventional business relationships.
Due to the levels of organizational commitment and investment required, not all partner relationships can be given the same degree of attention as truly
strategic alliances. The impact of mismanaging a strategic alliance or permitting it to fall apart can materially impact the firm’s ability to achieve its core
business objectives.
Why Strategic Alliance?
1. Critical to the success of a core business goal or objective.
2. Critical to the development or maintenance of a core competency or other source of competitive advantage.
3. Blocks a competitive threat.
4. Creates or maintains strategic choices for the firm.

5. Mitigates a significant risk to the business.
The essential issue when developing a strategic alliance is to understand which of these criteria the other party views as strategic. If either partner
misunderstands the other’s expectation of the alliance, it is likely to fall apart. For example, if one partner believes the other is looking for revenue
generation to achieve a core business goal, when in reality the objective is to keep a strategic option open, the alliance is not likely to survive.
2. Craft and align accurate goals and objectives
Business benefit
Start at a high level. Every project should have business benefit, expressed in terms such as increased quality, faster response/delivery time, or reduced
costs/increased revenue. Most often, the business benefit is quantified in some way to get the project funded and prioritized in the first place. For example,
your project may be able to reduce purchasing expenditures, create your product 25 percent faster, or increase company sales by 10 percent. Other times,
the benefits are more intangible, such as increased customer satisfaction or better information for decision-making.
Project goals
Once you identify the business benefit, you can look at the overall project goals. These are high-level statements that describe what this particular project is
going to do to help achieve business benefits. For example, a reengineering project could have goals for shortening work processes, reducing costs, and
increasing customer satisfaction.
Objectives statements

At a more granular level are the objectives statements describing the specific planned results of your project and what it is trying to achieve. When you
write an objective, remember the SMART acronym: Each objective should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.The objectives
state the meat of what the project is trying to achieve. When the project is complete, you need to be able to show that the objectives have all been
satisfied. For example, in our reengineering scenario above, an objective might be to “reduce the time to process a sales order, from receipt to shipment,
from ten days to two days, by September 30.” A deliverable to support that objective could be an in-house application that speeds the supply-chain
process.On the other hand, actively communicating with your customer is not a project objective. It is part of your project approach (or how you execute
the project). Likewise, keeping scope change to a minimum is not an objective. It is part of the project management procedures. At times, you may have a
vague idea of the goals and objectives but struggle with trying to determine the best way to express them.
Deliverables
The objectives should also be achieved through the completion of one or more deliverables, which are the items the project team is expected to provide. If
an objective cannot be achieved based on the completion of one or more project deliverables, it is probably written at too high a level or perhaps it is an
invalid objective for the project altogether.
Alignment
After you have the goals and objectives written, you should be able to line everything up. One or more deliverables are created to satisfy a project
objective. One or more objectives will help to achieve a business goal.
If a deliverable doesn’t help to achieve a project objective, you need to question whether the deliverable is needed or whether you need to write a new
objective statement. The completion of one or more goals will provide business benefit and help to achieve business goals and strategies. If the alignment
does not work this way, you are either missing something or you have something you don’t need.

2. Why Business Processes needs to be reframed
Whenever alliances happen there are certain things that need to be followed:
 Both the companies need to work for that alliance in a common platform.
 Teamwork between two companies need to happen in order to cater to the processes successfully.
 Relying on Partner’s Core Competency
 Proper Cash flow maintaining so interest remains
We have been working in different projects till date which has been diversified into a lot of verticals. The vertical we looking now into require some new
approach so as to create it as we are diversifying into a new methodology.
So there is a process that needs to reframe according to the process needs, so that execution and User Interface/ User Experience remain at a standard
without hampering the overall architecture.
The above mentioned points can be understood that when there is an alliance both the partners need to be on a same platform or line so that everything
moves smoothly.

3. Evaluate Market Demand/ Customer Pain Points and Competitors
Understanding the Market Demand and Topologies are really important as they are the decision variables which can be taken into account for catering into
services/products to serve the end customer/user.
We also need to identify what our competitors are offering in the market and specialize our portfolio so as to break out the competition and create a win-
win situation for both us and our Business Partners (Alliances).
Remembering the fact that we are defining us with serving the customers profitably. This is what marketing means according to Dr. Philip Kotler.
Understand the following points for the services or products are extremely important:
 What is the potential market size or demand?
 Who are your competitors?
 Why is your
 Is it a trend, fad, flat or growing market?
 Who are your target customers?
 What is your potential selling price?
 Does your product/service serve a passion or solve a pain?
 Are there any restrictions or regulations by Government on your product/service?
If you have the answers to the above then the next round awaits for the next process.

4. Understanding who can be the Potential Partners
After the Justification of what we need the next job lies where we can get those products or services what we need at the best prices at a least turnaround
time (TAT).
Mapping the above with the core OEM’s and PSP’s is the crucial part. Mapping the entities is really an important task to create the justified flow so that
pained points could be solved.
Identifying the Companies who are diversifying them with the objectives that we are looking at depends on different aspects as mentioned below:
1. Products/ services.
2. Pricing.
3. Systems Integrations.
4. Backend Developments.
5. Why they with justifications.
6. Are we capable to have a full support system for the integration?
Identify
Identify the potential
partners who can go
with our systematic
approach
Source
Cater to the
probable
partners
and Source
them
Close
Deal
finalization
with the
Partner

5. Understanding and Evaluating the Partner Analysis
A thorough analysis of the Partner is also required so that we can rely on them in terms of serving our customers and making them happy.
The Partner Analysis is dependent on the following:
PRICING BACKEND
TECHNOLOGY
SUPPORT
COMMISSION CLIENTELE PRODUCT
&
SERVICE
OFFERINGS
Identify the
pricing of the
offering
Does it support the
technology that we
are comfortable with
What is the
commissions
which are
available on the
service/ product
line
What are the
clients who are
working with the
Probable Partner
What are the
product and
service offerings
Probable Partner is
Offerings
Evaluate the above points and justify which is the best out of the rest on the above basis.

6. Sourcing Data of People to be connected
With the advent of the Internet age we have almost every single data online. So we should be primarily focusing on the things mentioned below:
Use of Professional Websites: It is the Best tool today to identify and get hold of people whom you want to exactly reach out to. It is really helpful to know
the person and getting in touch with that person intensifies to get more knowledge about how much we can get on the target.
Google Search: Many Organizations have a lot of publications which can be used to identify the people inside that we are looking for. Moreover we can also
get to know more people across the domain verticals.
Yellow Pages: Searching on the online Yellow pages is required to understand the companies what are the verticals and how to get in touch with them with
the contact number and email ids that are available over there.
Cold Calling: Getting the List of people and now the time has come to call them up or drop emails in name of a particular person so that we can
immediately get into his/her inbox with a probable explanation why I want him not to lose business and how can I help on that.
Personal Contacts: It’s the best way to be, if you have personal contacts then just be online give them the pitch and others would be done by your goodwill
and courtesy.
One Thing should be always there for every call or every move BE POLITE and BE HUMBLE, rather than taking be encrypted with a giving nature.
Professional Websites
like Linkedin
Google Search
Yellow Pages Websites
like tradus, justdial
Cold Calling Personal Contacts

7. Collecting contact details
Collection of proper details of people who can be your prime contact is something that’s important.
The collection can be diversified into:
 Email Ids
 Contact name
 Designation
 Contact Numbers
 Personal Contact Number
Always maintain an excel sheet to fill the same and this can be used to cater to different proposals which suite the entities you are looking forward to.
Always maintain a note in the sheet to mark the leads as:
 HOT
 COLD
 PIPELINE
 FUTURE PROSPECT

8. Contacting probable Partner Companies
After the Details has been populated into an excel sheet, we need to touch base with the people in that data who can help us get the things that we
require.
Calling: Get in Touch and understand what is his take on the proposal we are thinking about.
Email: Let him/her know what we are looking for in a documented manner with Company’s Achievements down the line for bigger clients.
Corporate Meeting: Ask that person to visit your office or you should be always on your toe to just do the visit. That’s where things get clear both to you
and to that person. Remember you are representing your company.
Informal Meeting: Get in touch with some place else where you can get on a same front with that person and make him understand how this would
benefit him in the long run as well as in the short run too. Commitments to such scenarios is required to some extent so always have a good discussion
about how much you can go ahead with the commercials and other things.
Calling Email Corporate Meeting Informal Meeting

9. EMAILING THE BUSINESS PROPOSAL
Email is one of the most effective tool as some people don’t have time to have a word with you but they would surely respond on the email and if they
don’t pay any attention try to get through some other mode.
10 Commandments of a Successful Email Business Proposal:
1. Mention the name of the Person to be contacted (If possible)
2. Don’t Start with a “ Hi <person’s name>” rather start with “ Dear Mr./Ms <Person’s Name>”.
3. The Subject should be small and crisp with Probable Partner’s Company Name.
4. The email Body must be simple and easy to understand.
5. Mention why they should do business with you clearing out the USP.
6. Don’t use Bcc to send business email to many people as it’s a One-to One communication.
7. Make Bullet points rather than paragraph.
8. Don’t forget to make a presentation and attach the file with the email.
9. Ending the email should always have a thanking part which is always in anticipation.
10. Check your email before sending it out at least for 2 times.
The 11th
Commandment is the most important one and it’s a follow up that needs to be done with that person so that we may understand where the thing is
taking us.

10. Follow up with Probable Business Partners
It’s not a brick and mortar job so you need to follow up on details which would help you to identify the places which need to catered to. Learning from your
clients, partners, and customers make you learn a lot on different things that should be done and should be done and in turn would increase your
experience curve.
Follow up should be also polite and courtesy should always be there.
Try to get into things which seems foggy to you and follow these three rules:
ASK ENQUIRE ACT

11. Conducting Meetings
Meetings are really crucial as you are going to meet the person in real.
 Always have a Smile and Greet the person as this makes things Happen- believe it or not.
 We should always be Polite and gentle so that the person feels comfortable in regard to whatever he or she is trying to say.
 Understand that he/she and you are on the same platform as his /her company wants business otherwise no one would have been on any side of
the table
 Do a research on the person and a thorough research on the details of the company from different journals and news.
 Understand the common parameters and get to a streamline wherein it can be a win- win situation for both.
 Have a giving attitude.
Understand
the
problem
Give a
Solution
Mutually
Agree
Close

12. Mutual Understanding and Mapping
Its one of the most important parameter that defines a lot as you are trying to do something probably that is new to you or probably new to the partner.
Mutual Understanding defines a lot of the problems and solutions are also mutually agreeable entities. Remember that we should not be in someone else’s
shoes as its uncomfortable. Try to do things that your organization supports and caters to, understanding the needs and other variables which can be:
1. Organization Structure and Policies.
2. What Competitors are doing.
3. How much you are liberal.
4. Commercials and Policies (Mutual).
5. How much the IT/ Development can do.
6. How much revenue is it going to generate.
7. Would it really solve the problem?
8. Is it a Long term relationship or just a short term relationship?

13. Agreement Processing
This is where legal comes into account. Understanding the clauses and the policies mutually agreed upon should be quantified.
Understanding where the pitfall is important. Do note a few things on a thorough check:
1. Company Name and Address should be correct
2. Policies should be known
3. Commercials should be agreed upon
4. Terms should be quantified
5. Government Stamp Paper should be there
6. If any points are missing you should add them to the Annexure so that it can be preceded afterwards.
7. Incorrect Information should be deleted or reframed.
8. No Promise should be given from our side in terms of Sales or profit generation.
9. Always get in touch with the legal team to safeguard your policies.
After drafting the Agreement we should be sending the copy to the Partner for a check-up .
1. After they make it a go with some changes, take the same to the next level it it printed on a stamp paper.
2. Get the Agreement Signed by the Authorizing Person.
3. Look for errors if there are any.
4. Send it over to them (Softcopy or Hardcopy)
5. Tell them to get the same signed and send it back to you for reference purpose.
6. Store the same and keep it for future reference.

Framework Agreement
At this first stage of negotiation, the groups involved agree on issues to be discussed, how they will be discussed, and on deadlines for reaching an
Agreement-in-Principle.
Agreement-in-Principle
The Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) is the second stage in the negotiation process. This is the stage during which the parties negotiate the issues set out in the
Framework Agreement. Reaching an Agreement-in-Principle, commonly called an AIP.
Final Agreement
A Final Agreement is the outcome of successful negotiations. The Final Agreement is based on the AIP. It must be ratified and signed by all parties,

14. Development and IT Mapping between both the Organization
Give the IT requirements to the development part so that they may work on the same to deliver it to the customers in an effective way.
If there is any problem related to their technical issues get in touch with people in Partner’s IT team.
Remember don’t keep the ball passing as it creates the job on a faster note, as you know strategic alliances but IT is not your game.
Get the Development done which can use both the partner’s services usefully to get in revenue to the system. We need to understand the topologies of the
Technology and accordingly we need to act over the specific problem.
Meeting with IT and Development should be done in order to understand what our capabilities are and how we can maximize the output through the same.

15. Final Implementation
The implementation takes into play when the Development is applied and finally implemented on the web and system The final bug testing should be done
accordingly so that it minimizes the risk of failure.
In project implementation or project execution, we put it all together. Project planning is complete, as detailed as possible, yet providing enough flexibility
for necessary changes. In a customer-contractor relationship, the contract is signed, based on the right decisions about the contract structures, and
including clauses for change and claim management.
Now we apply all the tools we prepared in order to keep ourselves in control of the project. As project managers and sub-project managers we have to
make sure that we, together with all our team members,
take action, in-line with the plan and / or contract
record and document all the work, work results, special events, decisions about changes, implementation of changes, etc.
analyze, communicate, report, and document status and results of action, in-line with the plan and / or contract
take decision if and what kind of change we need, in case any result (or action) is not as required
implement agreed changes, in-line with the plan and / or contract.

Standard Operating Processes for Alliances

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