@Risk

Look ahead to 2010. If you really want to

* drive cost efficiencies,

* extend the reach of sales capabilities,

* improve productivity,

* enhance innovation, and

* develop your core customer value and experience…

Then, it’s time to make global partner integration a top priority across your entire supplier network.

Most companies already know that. But, according to new research, very few are actually doing something about it.

A few days ago, the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council  released results of a survey of  about 400 corporate executives. According to the report, “Greater Innovation Through Closer Collaboration,” more than half of those polled said their partner networks are becoming more global and complex, and most (68 percent) agreed that business partners are essential to go-to-market processes, customer experience and competitive position.

About 50 percent of the respondents even said they were focusing on collaboration “at some level.”

But only a measly 5 percent report actually doing it end-to-end, and only 8 percent believe their companies are highly effective in the way they integrate and optimize these business networks.

In fact, a full 75 percent said they have “no ability” or “an unsatisfactory ability” to extend and leverage their internal systems to suppliers and outsourced service providers.

“As businesses look to improve performance and be more adaptable to market opportunities, managing complex webs of interconnected vendors and partners has become a business necessity,” Joel Reed, Senior Vice President Product Management and Marketing, Sterling Commerce, says. “ Those webs encompass a company’s Business Collaboration Network, which, when optimized, can transform what used to be called the ‘supply chain’ into a differentiating ‘value chain’ that helps increase productivity, speed time to market, and reduced risk and cost associated with compliance.”

The survey data backs up Reed’s contention.  It shows that enhancing collaboration across the supplier network provides multiple direct benefits to customer experience, including:

• faster time to product resolution (55 percent)

• reduced cost of customer support (42 percent)

• better innovation around products and services (45 percent).

What’s more,  42 percent of those polled said they rely heavily on suppliers and outsourced services to meet customer needs, and more than 51 percent regard integration of partner networks with the customer as important to delivering enhanced service and support.

Need more details? You can download the 48-page report here. (Registration required.)