Business partnering

Business partnering is the development of successful, long term, strategic relationships between customers and suppliers, based on achieving best practice and sustainable competitive advantage. Business partner model is a process where HR professionals work closely with business leaders and line managers to achieve shared organisational objectives.

The mission of Business partnering and the key-aspects of the discipline has been developed recently in the tourism field. The mission of Business partnering (for tourism) consists in "creating, organizing, developing and enforcing operative (short-term), tactical (medium-term) and strategic (long-term) partnerships" (Droli, 2007). "Partnering is the process of two or more entities creating synergistic solutions to their challenges."

Joint selling is an example of operative partnering activity. Account intelligence sharing reselling or "value chain integration" (Child, Faulkner, 1998) are examples of tactical partnering initiatives. Joint product development is a typical strategic partnering activity. Partnering agreements are commonly used in the different kind of partnerships.

One example is the Strategic Partnering Arrangement in the aviation sector which was put together by the UK Ministry of Defence and AgustaWestland. Both Partners share an agreed common objective to improve helicopter services and support to the Front Line. The MOD also wishes to provide the best value for money to the taxpayer while AgustaWestland seeks to provide the best returns to its shareholders via a stable, long-term income stream.

Reduction of general costs. Business partnering can be cheaper and more flexible than a merger or acquisition, and can be employed when a merger or acquisition is not feasible.

Business partnering increases the "competitive advantage" (Porter, 1985). The direct benefits of Business partnering consists in a greater competitive advantage through the co-operation (the co-opetitive advantage) and even better opportunities of revenues, occupation and investment in the sector of application.

Business partnering creates a no more traditionally-based solidarity or "organic", but a rationale form of "mechanic solidarity" (Durkheim, 1893). Partnering takes a new approach to achieving business objectives. It replaces the traditional customer-supplier model with a collaborative approach to achieving a shared objective; this may be to build a hospital, improve an existing service contract or launch an entirely new programme of work. Essentially, the Partners work together to achieve an agreed common aim whilst each participant may still retain different reasons for achieving that common aim.

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