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Successful Partnering

Key factors in making Partnerships work

It is easy to assume that between a Pharma company (paying good money) and a CRO or other supplier (keen to provide great customer service), the relationship should be fine. Unfortunately things don't always run smoothly.

We've worked a lot with companies and teams who've needed to make partnerships work better, and we'd summarise the things below as key factors:

Women Business Analysts

Deep understanding of goals

The stated business objectives may be agreed, but sometimes the players on both sides do not take sufficient time to explore, discuss and generate a full understanding of the business background. Yet this can generate clarity and motivation. We can help to facilitate this.


Who does/Who decides

RACI analysis to establish clear accountabilities is a good start, plus an issue-escalation matrix. But we know, when big issues arise, players at all levels get involved. People must be able to operate in a fluid, engaged way, despite the irritation and confusion this sometimes produces.

High performance communication

Everyone identifies this as an important factor to improve. And yet it is a source of complaint so often. We find it the first thing to slip when the pressure increases. We can help you to make it work and keep systems working.

People at the bar

Establishing trust

Trust builds when we pay real attention to all of the points on this page. Modern partnering requires less fine detail in a contract, and more trust between the players. Easy to say, more difficult to achieve, but it\'s our business - talk to us!


Continued learning

The cross-companies team needs to reserve some time on a regular basis, to review how the relationship is progressing, check recent experiences against the ground rules, and take corrective actions.