The Partnership Problem

This conversation could go in a number of different directions, but I've chosen to talk about business vendor partnership's or alliances.

In the past couple of weeks we were notified that a product/service we've been reselling is going away, the company just decided to no longer offer the service. Not because it wasn't profitable, but rather because they had other products/services that were more profitable. Good for them I say ... makes sense from an economics standpoint.

However, that leaves us in a situation we've never been before. Lost service offering and lost profit. The service/product we resell from them is a valuable service to our RV Dealerships and also profitable for us. Bummer.

More than likely we'll find a similar provider and go from there, but the experience puts a another notch on my business knowledge stick. Watch the vendor partnerships and alliances you commit to and make sure there is a plan B should that relationship or service go south.

All the marketing dollars/effort/energy investment we put into the product/service offering would be lost along with the profit should a similar service provider be unavailable. No worries ... just plan better!

Until next time...