Trusting Each Other
Trust is the key to any good relationship - with shared goals and mutual understanding of equal importance.
But you need to work at achieving these in any partnership. Each party must be seen to deliver on promises, be committed to the project through its ups and downs, whilst resisting any temptation to sell out the other for short-term gains.
LambLink is a unique ASDA/Welsh Country Foods (WCF) scheme, which has changed the whole approach to marketing lamb. The scheme promotes collaborative working relationships via a quality based pricing mechanism. The relationship the Lamblink team of fieldsmen have with the producers helps build up trust between WCF and farmer suppliers and maintaining relationships with farmers is seen as a key aspect of the LambLink scheme.
Scottish Organic Milk Producers (SOMP) has a considerable regard for organics, shared with Graham's Dairies, which has assisted them in capitalising on opportunities in the marketplace. The significant amount of trust which has developed between them has been achieved through having regular discussions on various subjects and sharing information that benefits both.
Highland Grain and its farmer members have an open transfer of information with Edrington, to the point of being pro-active when informing each other about issues. The relationship is forward looking, there is an open book policy concerning information, problems are highlighted and solutions sought, with planning playing a key role. The result is that each party trusts the other and this helps improve margins, add value and manage risk.
Coldwater Shellfish does not have any formal agreement with the boats that supply it, relying instead on the relationships that have been built up over time to maintain the level of supply. To underpin the relationships, Coldwater endeavours to ensure that it buys fish from the fisherman as soon as the catch is landed and that the fishermen are paid both the proper market price and promptly.
Key points from this case study:
- Good communication is one of the keys to successful collaborative working
- Openness is essential to maximise collaborative opportunities
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