[REBOL] Re: Rebols United (was) Re: How to get Rebol forward
From: tbrownell:L3TECHNOLOGY at: 28-Apr-2003 18:07
Virtual Partnerships: In an effort to bolster their competitiveness, a
growing number of online entities will band together in sales and
information networks. In an example of this strategy, four top online
retailers (CDnow, Cyberian Outpost, eToys, and Reel.com) have formed a
network to cross-promote their products and services.
http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp_Q_ChanID_E_BZ_A_StoryID_E_200001
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Benefits
* Gives access to a wide range of specialized resources
* Can present a unified face to large corporate buyers
* Individual members retain their independence and continue to develop their
niche skills
* They can reshape and change members according to the project or task in
hand
* There is no need to worry ponderously about "divorce settlements" as in
formal joint ventures.
Some of the ingredients for developing a succeeding virtual corporation are:
1. Each partner must have some distinctive added value to bring to the
corporation
2. Members must develop high degree of mutual trust and understanding. Thus,
very often the same people will work together again and again.
3. Projects should be the focus of the corporation. Usually they will be for
clients, but some projects e.g. marketing, can be done by a few members on
behalf of the corporation as a whole.
4. 'Rules of engagement' need to be defined fairly broadly up-front, in
terms of inputs to the corporation and rewards expected, though the momentum
is lost if these are too formalised too soon
5. Members of the corporation should recognise the need for coordination
roles, and either commit time to develop and nurture these or pay one of the
members to undertake them on behalf of the corporation.
6. A clear interface needs to be developed with 'non virtual' customers -
they like tidy relationships and clear contracts. Thus either one member of
the virtual corporation must act on behalf of the others (using them as
subcontractors) or create a joint company to act as their contracts and
administration service.
http://www.skyrme.com/insights/2virtorg.htm
