LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The purpose of this Infotracs is to heighten the industry’s awareness and understanding of the need for strategic alliances. It emphasizes the consumer’s power over the supply chain and the fact that not one single manufacturer or retailer alone can meet the consumer’s mounting demands. It takes the power of the entire supply chain working as a team.
We define the goals of alliances and how they work, the compromise and trust requirements to make it work, as well as specific new processes and systems that need to be employed.
Manufacturers and retailers were surveyed to gain their perspectives on these issues, why they enter alliances, the tension involved and why they succeed or fail.
Industry experts also lend their observations on many of the key issues and where the alliances are headed.
Assisting in this issue were Kurt Salmon Associates and The Advantage Group. AG was commissioned by Fairchild to conduct an exclusive survey with industry executives on the topic. AG is an international research and consulting firm serving consumer goods manufacturers.
KSA, a management consulting firm specializing in retailing and consumer products, supplied research and analysis on strategic alliance guidelines and defined the characteristics of the three levels of achievement for strategic alliances, and the key success factors.
Robin Lewis
Vice President,
Executive Editor