Of critical focus in modern logistics management is to achieve lowest cost integrated solutions which has led to the necessity to ensure extreme quality in the vendor buyer relationship.

Strategic Alliances achieve this objective and EMM Logistics has researched, documented and implemented a number of such arrangements that have led to enhanced results for both parties via the maximising of benefits and efficiencies jointly managed throughout the total supply chain.

A Strategic Alliance is defined as a long term commitment between two organisations, created for the purpose of achieving specific and definitive business objectives and outcomes by providing a mechanism to formalise the effectiveness of each participants' resources and ensuring that the activities jointly undertaken are truly synergistic and produce benefits for both.

The mechanisms inherent in successful Alliances requires a change to traditional adversarial, fee for service relationships and requires the commitment to a shared culture without regard to organisational boundaries. The relationship must be based upon mutual trust, dedication and common goals and an understanding of each parties' individual expectations and objectives.

It is essential to clearly define the key performance indicators that both parties will jointly manage during the Alliance, they provide objective benchmarks against which to evaluate results and to monitor the ongoing health of the Alliance.

Created and managed properly, Strategic Alliances will always deliver more benefits than each individual participant can deliver alone and the ability to fairly share in the financial and operational gains so achieved is the powerful incentive to enter these types of leading edge relationships.