Alliance Management at Forbes Marshall– Group 7

Group Members- Himanshu Mittal(020)Shruti Mandal(050)Raghu Vamsi(035)Priyanka Chauhan(032)

Why did Forbes Marshall engage in alliances as compared to acquisitions? Does ForbesMarshall have an alliance management capability?

An alliance is an approach which allows two companies to pool their resources together to form a combined force in the marketplace. By engaging in alliances FM was able to retain their individual entity but compete against competitors as a larger, unified business force with the alliance. An acquisition would see FM absorbing the other company. Alliances are less risky than acquisitions as they are negotiable, co-operative and easier to walk away from. They bringing two firms together with mutual interests but different strengths to work on projects to benefit both.

Reasons:

1.Gain immediate market penetration

2.Gain access to best in-class technologies

3.Learn operating principles and philosophies

4.New product development

5.Gain synergies by cooperation

Synergies across Alliance :

Alliance Management Capabilities:

1.Patner selection & Alliance formation.

2.Alliance design and governance.

3.Post-formation Alliance management.

Alliance Management at Forbes Marshall– Group 7

4.Dedicated Alliance functions.

FM’s strengths lie in their interpersonal relationships. Due to FM’s value-focused approach to building their ability to managing alliances and consistency, they have seen success in their alliances.

For example:

THE SPIRAL -MARSHALL Alliance:

Oldest alliance over 60 years in FM groups portfolio

Strategic Fit: Strong desire to cooperate in order to enter different markets

Capabilities Fit: Provide better customized solutions as they have sales driven groups

Cultural Fit: Corporate value to provide excellent product knowledge to customers

Organizational Fit: High degree of operational freedom based on trust and informality