Turn your customer into a partner

Learn how to make strategic relationships deliver value

By George F. Brown Jr.

Most companies invest significant resources in activities designed to identify business partners and secure a relationship with them. Sales leaders typically identify the strategic targets that they want to win over in each year’s annual plan. Strategic sourcing leaders place importance on finding suppliers that can make a difference to their organization’s success and bringing them onto the team. Executives responsible for numerous business functions – from research and development to logistics to information technology – look to identify partners that can help them solve their most challenging business problems. But all too often, these companies think that they have achieved success once handshakes are exchanged and contracts are signed. In truth, that’s when the real work begins.