What does  a Collaborative Alliance look like?

It looks like a trustworthy, committed relationship with common goals.  It’s businesses sharing vital information,then creating not just a product, but a product that is the best solution for that customer's application. And it's usually quite rare.

The image below illustrates the barriers that organizations typically encounter when developing a new product or formulation in the rubber industy, but these same barriers exist across all industries. 

  It's based on trust and open communications and has substantial benefits to all parties.  Here at Elite Elastomers we have developed several Win-Win partnerships

within our supply chain. You may ask how are we doing that? It starts with

changing the silo attitude, between the triad: the supplier, the intermediate,

and the big company. This culture is and has been a detriment to many

industries, which ultimately affects the bottom line.

      Let’s face it, there is no long term profitability if there is competition

among the triad. Instead of a win-win partnership, it becomes an adversarial

relationship. The results are businesses lose a quality product, money, and

reputation. Elite Elastomers owner, Steve Glidewell is on the front lines

attempting to get his colleagues to stop the silo mentality. A 30-year veteran in

the Oil and Gas industry, Glidewell took the mantra: knowledge is power and

devised seamless integration, where the supply chain transfers information

transparently.

  One of the first steps to the collaboration is all parties have to be

willing to listen, then you show them the benefits. This starts building trust,

which will eliminatethe bypass model that locks people out of conversations.

Recently, Glidewell came up with Elite Assist. This allows engineers,

manufacturers and operators, access that’s not normally granted, to solve

issues with material. This model has built confidence among the triad, and

eventually turned into a more profitable partnership.

These partnerships are the key to sustaining many industries and jobs.

Glidewell reiterates you can’t have one without the other. Finally, in the end,

when the partnership has the three key elements of trust, commitment and

common goals, all ships rise with the tide, creating better profits and

sustainable relationships.

 In closing, we've attached a collaborative alliance case study where the

triad created a successful partership that ended with the best solution.