This is part 3 of our 10-part blog series on Ecosystems. You can find the other blogs in the series here.

In a business ecosystem, the most important stakeholder apart from the customer are the partners and hence for them, we need a value-driven framework that considers their unique needs.

Here’s a framework that outlines – The Elements of Value for Partners.

These 25 elements of the pyramid feature the different attributes that an organization should consider while working with partners and their ecosystems to achieve its purpose and drive better value to the stakeholders involved in the customer value chain.

For example, when Uber partners with a mapping software, they do so because it provides a great support infrastructure, reduces costs, and ensures quality.

When Salesforce and Amazon came together to become a part of each other’s ecosystem, they did so not because it offers “superior customer service” but because this partnership also positively impacts their market share.

When organizations grow their partnership network, they look at four key aspects to build a mutually beneficial partnership:

• Functional Needs: This aspect involves factors such as support with infrastructure, streamlined operations, manpower, risk management, ensuring compliance, etc.
• Incremental Needs: These include enhanced competency, faster time-to-market, being insight-driven, and innovation.
• Market-Driven: Ensuring customer delight, building strategic partnerships, driving leadership and market penetration, and other such aspects that help ground the organization’s presence in different market landscapes and further grow the geographical footprint.
• Visionary: Partnerships and ecosystems are built on the idea of heading closer to an organization’s vision. Which is why, as organizations partner with other partners or ecosystems, it’s integral to consider if the entity functions as a visionary and can propel all stakeholders towards achieving their vision.