How Integrated Tech Strengthens A Business’ Most Prized Partnerships

Business partnerships are first and foremost about people. But at the same time, there is no denying the powerful influence integrated tech can have on just about every partnership.

With so many integrated tech tools now available, business partners can find practical applications for just about every aspect of their work together. By strategically implementing the solutions that will deliver the greatest value for both sides, partnerships can become more productive and remain better aligned as they work toward their goals.

Integrated Tech Streamlines Communication

Communication is the bedrock of a successful partnership, so it should be no surprise that one of the most important applications of integrated tech is in this area. All too often, business partnerships fail because of communication issues such as a lack of clarity, withholding information, failing to resolve conflicts or compromise, changing expectations or a simple lack of consistent communication.

Many of these issues are cultural, particularly in business partnerships where each company has a different type of culture. However, even when businesses are seemingly aligned in terms of culture, vision and goals, inconsistent or ineffective communication can greatly undermine their work together.

In this use case, project management tools like Asana or Trello or communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams can be a powerful difference-maker. Yes, they’ve become so commonplace that they are almost second nature to many businesses. But quite often, these tools are primarily used to coordinate collaboration between internal teams.

As part of the process of setting up a business partnership, partners should consider which tools they will use together to facilitate stronger communication. The right platforms could vary based on needs such as file sharing or task assignment, as well as the type and frequency of communication.

Regardless, setting up specific timelines and guidelines for communication that make use of agreed-upon communications tech will ensure greater coordination of the work.

Process Automation Drives KPIs

Integrated technology — particularly tech that helps automate key processes and activities — can be a powerful tool for enhancing partner productivity. Automating routine tasks and enabling team members to focus on higher-level activities can make the partnership better able to reach its KPIs.

One great example of this comes from FedEx, which uses route optimization software to improve delivery times for its partners, while also improving driver safety and reducing fuel use. This tech integration creates a true win-win by lowering operational costs and enabling higher-quality delivery outcomes.

Similarly, as data from AgriERP reveals, integrated tech can have a profound impact even in areas not thought to be on the cutting edge of technology adoption, like farming. According to their research, farms that used automated management software were able to increase productivity by 30% while simultaneously reducing operational costs by 20% and lowering accounting errors by 35%.

In addition to driving profitability and sustainability, these integrated systems also offered the benefit of improved collaboration opportunities through peer-to-peer resource sharing and leveraging tech partnerships to continually tailor and refine how the tools were used in accordance with individual farmers’ needs.

By automating and digitizing tasks like manual data entry, scheduling and so on, partners can eliminate errors, gain access to real-time data and work more efficiently so that both sides can meet their goals.

Data Sharing Ensures Transparency And New Insights

One of the most powerful attributes of integrated tech is its ability to enable transparent and up-to-date data sharing between business partners. This can have a powerful impact on both communication and achieving KPIs, particularly by increasing trust and creating new opportunities for collaboration.

For example, a partnership between Microsoft and OpenCorporates was specifically designed to help customers make better use of data for fraud prevention, evaluate suppliers and customers in accordance with industry requirements and complete other due diligence. This level of transparency was vital for building trust and accountability, as well as improving efficiency.

Perhaps the most valuable element of integrated technology fueling data sharing is that it helps partners learn together and identify ways to improve their efforts. Data sharing can also help partners uncover new insights that allow them to change how they work together. Whether through identifying and correcting inefficiencies or identifying new strategic opportunities, enabling greater access to partnership-relevant data (and giving more people the ability to see that data) allows more collaborators to contribute in a meaningful way.

As one study on collaborations between public businesses and non-profits explained, “Cross-sector partnerships that learn, in short, are more resilient in the face of uncertainty than partnerships that plan. The latter are destined to encounter surprises, usually unwelcome ones, as a result of their differences in operating modes, which can derail a relationship by violating the expectations captured by the plan. But partnerships that learn expect surprises, learn from them, and continually develop their capacity to work together.”

With quality data to provide insights and support decision-making, partners can do exactly that.

Make The Most Of Technology

As technology continues to evolve, business partners ultimately do themselves a disservice if they don’t consider the various ways that tech could improve their current collaborative processes. By identifying areas where integrated technology can address issues related to communication, productivity and transparency, you and your partners can become more fully aligned and be better equipped to meet both sides’ goals.