Lojack and Micrologic Alliance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Lojack and Micrologic Alliance - Assignment Example The intention of this study is the alliance between Lojack and Micrologic as an example of upstream vertical (supplier) alliance. Alliances between companies can be horizontal and vertical. Direct horizontal relations are those in which the company reaches a tactic understanding with its competitors. This understanding might be related to price or other factors. Indirect horizontal alliances are often done with industry outsiders – these alliances help both the companies in research or other factors and do not create a conflict of interest between them. Upstream vertical alliances are done with suppliers. Lojack did not produce the theft detection system. Most of the production and technological work related to the product was done by Micrologic. Thus the alliance is an example of upstream vertical alliance along with the supplier. The other type of vertical alliance is the downstream alliance which is done with buyers. The stolen vehicle recovery system (SRV) had to involve p olitical and regulatory actors such as FCC (Federal communication system as well as various law enforcement agencies. It also involved the partnership with car dealers as well as the technology provider – Motorola. Thus the alliance between Lojack and Micrologic also involved a number of other relational actors. The initial objective of the alliance between the 2 players was intended to develop the necessary base software and equipment and to obtain FCC approves technology for the SVR system. However over a period of time the two have changed strategic objectives – Micrologic now wishes to use the alliance in order to use the marketing network of Lojack. ... ever over a period of time the two have changed strategic objectives – Micrologic now wishes to use the alliance in order to use the marketing network of Lojack. This shows that the objectives of an alliance can vary over a period of time. As the strategic objectives of the firms involved changes, the nature of partnership between them also changes. (George Stonehouse, 2004) They tend to leverage sources or integrate activities with other firm which tend to maximise their value proposition. Evaluation of the Partnership Making partnership is not a very difficult phenomenon. In this age of various multinational companies there are numerous opportunities available for collaboration. However the important thing to do is to evaluate the different collaborations. Evaluation helps both the firms to consider what are the objectives of the partnership, what they have done to achieve them and how do they want to move ahead. Evaluation helps the firm to understand how they need to work in the partnership; it helps both the partners to improve management processes and procedures. They are able to analyse the objectives which had been set by the firms initially and allows for a revision in this objectives if the need arises. Effectiveness of partnerships is important at three levels – input, output and impact. Input factors involve the partners working with each other. Both partners may bring different inputs to the partnership. In the case we are analysing the input from Micrologic was technical expertise whereas the input for Lojack was distribution and marketing strength. Output is the result of the work done by the partners together. The input and output factors both combine in order to create an impact. We will use the life cycle model of evaluating the partnerships in