The Future of Alliances & Partnering

The next wave in alliance formations will sweep through the emerging and middle markets, where fast-growing small to medium-sized businesses will partner with large companies to accelerate both parties' growth and profitability. Research shows:

• Over 10,000 alliances annually have been formed worldwide in recent years, approximately 70 percent of which are equity alliances.
• By 2004, the top 1,000 U.S. companies expect that alliances will generate more than 30 percent of gross revenues.
• Alliances consistently produce superior returns.
• Most large companies use alliances to accelerate growth, access non-core capabilities, and enter new markets.

The "playing field" between superior, alliance-focused companies and less seasoned firms is far from level. Many large companies have devoted substantial capital and managerial resources to build "best practices" alliance capabilities in-house. They are battle-tested and have learned from their early mistakes. They do not enter into alliances in an ad-hoc manner but instead follow rigorous, disciplined processes.

To successfully participate in corporate alliances, a company need not develop equivalent expertise internally. CFA can bridge the divide between you and potential partners.