Our Analysis:

Clarity  What clearly emerged was that this is where most alliances go wrong.  This vital stage of researching and thinking through roles and goals is too often missed out completely or rushed through. 

Predictability  It is essential to define precisely the role and behaviour of each party. And it is vital that internal rewards and structures are put in place, which reinforce this.  Communications and account management have to be thought through properly.
Trust  Companies really need to think ahead to the crises, which will inevitably come, and determine in advance how they will behave to maximise trust.  How loyal will you be when the test comes?  There are also certain actions that build trust, such as small, nearly foolproof projects!

Commitment  This will only come once the initial hurdles have been overcome.  Companies should think how best to express this in events and team-building exercises.

Resources  Some suppliers, such as Intel, have followed a policy of throwing resources at certain influencers and almost paying them to become involved.  This can be a viable strategy.  But for most, resources will build with the relationship.  It is certainly worth regularly auditing resources and commitment levels and ensuring they match.

And the reality today?  It is striking how much can in fact be learnt from how large partners such as retailers are handled in other industries.  It is also readily apparent that most of the headaches and issues are home-grown.  As with political parties, your worst enemies and greatest resistance will almost certainly be internal.  Very senior management is still often extremely bad at building structures that avoid these conflicts – partly, one suspects, because they do not fully understand the sales process.