The development of the first serialization machine in Puerto Rico, designed by my company, Ultimate Solutions Corp, in collaboration with AutoPak Engineering, presided by Ignacio Muñoz, inspires me to tell my experience in this blog about important aspects to establish a partnership.
In record time the partnership between both companies was able to design, manufacture, assemble, program, and install this serialization machine in a pharmaceutical company in the United States. The result of this project was possible because both companies operated successfully together as one single group.
Here, in my opinion, are the five most important elements to consider when establish a Partnership:
- Find your technical counterpart: As entrepreneurs, we certainly know the capabilities of our companies, but specially, our limitations. Although these corporate limitations can be minimized with investment and technical development, both options would require time to address an immediate opportunity. In this situation, it’s easier to find a company with the technical knowledge, work team, facilities, and growth capabilities to escalate, especially if the opportunity can be turned into a repetitive and replicable product.
- Economic growth for both companies: It is very important that the economic benefit for both companies compensates for the effort of the Partnership. If one of the companies benefits more than the other, the Partnership can be occasional but not long-term. Within the negotiation, both entrepreneurs must look for options to make the Partnership economically balanced.
- Establish the negotiation points with clarity: Both entrepreneurs must clearly establish their roles and responsibilities. Also what they are, and are not, willing to negotiate. The conversation must be documented and finally turned into a legal document that guarantees the agreements. This document must be clear, but at the same time flexible, since the process may bring many unexpected conditions for which it is important that it can be modified.
- Good faith: No entrepreneur would enter into a Partnership if he or she doesn’t sense that good intentions exists in both parties. A Partnership in which one of the members feels threatened has no reason to exist.
- Trust: In my opinion, this is the most important of all. The Partnership must be based on trust and respect. A partner seeks someone that complements his or her technical and entrepreneurship abilities. If you have trust, you’ll be able to speak with clarity. Being clear from the beginning is fundamental to develop trust.
Ultimate Solutions and AutoPak Engineering have joined efforts to create the company UPAK Global LLC with the purpose of creating serialization modules for item-level serialization and aggregation under the Unisolve program of Systech Only One.
