The Partnering Group, NACDS Study Joint Business Planning in “Creating Value Together”

<p><strong><br /> </strong></p> <p><strong>Arlington, Va.</strong> &ndash;The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) <a href=”https://www.nacds.org/about/leadership”>Retail Advisory Board</a> and global strategy firm <a href=”http://www.thepartneringgroup.com/”>The Partnering Group</a> today released a report to help retailers and suppliers establish joint business plans to align and optimize shared business goals. &nbsp;</p> <p>The report, &ldquo;<a href=”https://www.nacds.org/membership/CreatingValueTogether”>Creating Value Together</a>,&rdquo; identifies ten key industry findings to help companies establish strong joint business plans with their trading partners. &nbsp;Joint business planning is a collaborative process between a retailer and/or distributor and a manufacturer and/or supplier in which both parties align on short- and long-term financial goals for their shared business.</p> <p>&ldquo;According to the findings in this report, one of the biggest challenges is the amount of time it takes to complete a joint business plan with a trading partner,&rdquo; said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE.&nbsp; &ldquo;The NACDS Retail Advisory Board has been actively engaged in overcoming that hurdle.&nbsp; Working with NACDS member companies and with The Partnering Group, &lsquo;Creating Value Together&rsquo; explores methods to help simplify the process and allow trading partners to expand the number of companies with which they conduct JBPs.&nbsp; We are pleased to share the report&rsquo;s results with the industry today.&rdquo;</p> <p>The NACDS Retail Advisory Board makes recommendations to the NACDS Board of Directors on front-end issues, and helps to shape NACDS&rsquo; member programs and services.</p> <p>&ldquo;Joint business planning should be looked at as both a business strategy and a business process,&rdquo; said Peter Leech, managing director, The Partnering Group. &ldquo;These properly executed plans create incremental value in a relationship between trading partners.&nbsp; This process is not in lieu of a category plan, it is much more.&rdquo;</p> <p>The report also identifies the leading characteristics of joint business plans, methods and tools to maximize business outcomes, and recommendations for driving maximum efficiency and effectiveness.&nbsp;</p> <p>The &ldquo;Creating Value Together&rdquo; executive summary and full report are available on the NACDS <a href=”https://www.nacds.org/membership/CreatingValueTogether”>website</a>.&nbsp; In addition, a toolkit is also available, providing templates, workbooks and other resources to help companies get started and manage the development of their joint business plans. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>