Description: Until now, the relationship between a company and its customers or suppliers has consisted of arms-length haggling over the price of a part or a service. Today, reveals alliance expert Jordan D. Lewis, customers and suppliers are actually embracing each other - sharing data, design work, and even research and development. The result, Lewis finds, has been a dramatic improvement in each firm's costs, quality, cycle times, and customer satisfaction - without added expanse. Lewis provides the tools managers need to structure and manage effective and successful alliances. He discusses all of the initial questions on how to get started - when to use alliances, how to choose the best partners, and how to set clear objectives targeted on high performance. Specific techniques are presented to foster joint creativity - from building inter-firm teams to systems-based thinking - as well as methods for monitoring alliance performance and progress. Lewis also shows ways to develop the foundation of cooperation, negotiation, and trust between partners which is so crucial in achieving optimum competitive advantage.

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