Smart partnerships are not just about relationships. These are strategically selected partnerships with key players across the supply chain.
Forming smart partnerships and outsourcing for the right skills, knowledge and abilities is no longer seen as losing control, but gaining intelligence, capabilities and resources. Interestingly, smart partnerships are driving innovation at lightning speed in emerging nations as they leapfrog development with the advances of technology.
“Collaboration is perceived as the key to increased business innovation success, with emerging markets embracing the collaborative trend more strongly than western, developed countries.’’
GE Global Innovation Barometer, 2013 published by GE and researched by StrategyOne.
The bar charts back up this view but also highlight concerns about collaboration. The 2013 GE Global Innovation Barometer report also revealed that: “Innovation remains a top business priority globally. Although 87% of the companies interviewed believed they would innovate better by partnering with another company, businesses remain hesitant to collaborate because of a growing fear of intellectual property theft, talent poaching and a general lack of trust.”
Mutually beneficial smart partnerships fast-track innovation by enabling businesses to leverage the expertise of other organisations and gain access to new products, insights and markets. From smart phones and cars to buildings and cities, smart is about thinking differently and creating innovative and sustainable solutions. Smart encapsulates agility, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight.
Simply put, SMART = THE FUTURE.
GE Global Innovation Barometer 2013 published by GE and researched by StrategyOne
Smart partnerships as a country
Countries considered to be experienced collaborators are considered innovation champions among their global competitors. Respondents to the GE Global Innovation Barometer 2013 report selected countries they perceive to be leading innovation champions and countries that they believe are embracing innovation. South Africa is rated quite highly in terms of collaborating but is not listed as a leading innovation champion.
This indicates that as a nation we are learning that working together is a means to overcoming some of our challenges but there is still room for improvement. It relates back to the need for a coordinated national strategy and plan to create sustainable advantages for South Africa in the future.
Source: GE Global Innovation Barometer 2013 published by GE and researched by StrategyOne
To download the complete report, please visit http://www.barloworld-logistics.com/site/industry-insight/
