joint business plan means

What Is a Joint Business Plan (JBP)? Benefits & Best Practices

By 8th & Walton | on October 2, 2022

From small businesses to large corporations, the most successful companies begin and stick with a clear business plan. When a company defines its goals, lays out a path to meet objectives, and agrees on financial spending and expectations, it creates a shared vision and accountability to succeed.

Many businesses experience greater growth when partnering with another business. In the supplier and retailer relationship, both parties working independently would be detrimental. To create a mutually beneficial partnership, they must begin by defining each company’s responsibilities, expectations, and needs in a joint business plan.

What Is a Joint Business Plan?

A joint business plan (JBP) is the collaborative process of planning between a retailer and a supplier in which both companies agree on short-term and long-term objectives, financial goals, growth, and shared business initiatives for profitability.

Joint business planning focuses on agreeing on common objectives and aligning on a single goal or set of goals. The companies in the joint business plan must work together to accomplish a shared vision.

What Is the Purpose of a Joint Business Plan?

For retailers and suppliers, having a joint business plan can create a win-win strategy in growing consumer sales. An effective JBP allows suppliers to build stronger relationships with their retailers so both parties can mutually support and benefit from each other.

When a retailer and supplier recognize each others’ needs and agree on common goals, they can share insights to support each other and improve sales, customer growth, and processes.

How Does a Joint Business Plan Work?

Two companies can come together with a joint business plan because they have one thing in common: a shared shopper . Whether it is a supplier partnering with a retailer or a children’s clothing company partnering with a toy manufacturer, having the same target audience is the first element that brings the companies together.

The companies considering a joint business venture should then share their individual business plans and discuss their mutual growth opportunities. This is where the general goals and areas of support can be defined. Specific tactics and category strategies can also be fleshed out in early discussions before moving to the formal process.

Once both companies are in agreement that the partnership will be mutually beneficial, the joint business plan can be created. Formal contracts are drawn up, approved, signed, and the plan is ready to be executed. Periodic reviews and necessary adjustments to the JBP are recommended as needed.

Benefits of Joint Business Planning

Why enter into a joint business plan with another company? The benefits can be not only financial but educational as well:

• Aligning goals.  For a retailer/supplier joint business plan, being aligned on goals creates clarity on all other areas of the business. Defining expectations on all areas from marketing to supply chain to sales goals leaves minimal area for questions. Agreeing on goals, no matter how and when they are measured, keeps both parties accountable and benefits both to meet expectations.
• Shared resources and exposure. Partnering with another company can bring a new audience and a new platform. In a simple retailer/supplier joint business plan, the retailer can introduce the supplier’s product to its core shoppers. At the same time, shoppers loyal to the supplier’s product or brand can be introduced to the retailer’s store and website for the first time.
• Greater return on investment.  By partnering with another company with a shared vision, the benefits above will provide a better ROI when the plan is executed correctly.

Joint Business Planning Best Practices

How can companies ensure their joint business plan is a good fit for both parties? These are some best practices to include in preparation for entering into the partnership:

1. Align Internally First

Before entering into a joint business plan with another company, all members of the business must agree on the benefits of the partnership. Recognizing the advantages and seeing the bigger picture is key. When employees are in alignment within the company, it will be easier to align with the partnering company on the shared vision of the joint business plan.

2. Create the Plan Together

When two businesses enter into a partnership, the joint business plan should not be built by only one. A company sending another a complete plan or just a form to fill out is not collaborative. Both companies need to build the plan from the ground up. Collaborating in the development of the joint business plan is just as important as executing the plan itself.

3. Set Specific Goals

Expectations for success in the partnership need to be specific. “We need to grow sales” or “production costs will decrease” are good goals, but too general. Keep specifics in your plan that are as specific as they are realistic. If one company wants to grow sales by 40% in the next quarter, this should be spelled out in the joint business plan so get early support or push back from the other company.

4. Assign a Metric to Each Goal

Putting a metric with a goal keeps the company accountable to the mission of the joint business plan. For example, if the goal is to grow sales by 40% in the next quarter, it would be wise to assign a weekly growth metric. If the metric is too low over a few weeks, the plan shows that action needs to be taken immediately in order to meet the 40% sales growth goal for the quarter.

5. Communicate Responsibility and Accountability

The joint business plan is the place to eliminate all guesswork. If Company A is responsible for providing labels to Company B, be very specific about the responsible parties. Clarify that the packaging coordinator of Company A will mail the labels to the warehouse manager of Company B on the first of the month.

6. Include Risks and Solutions

Planning for setbacks is key to planning for success. The joint business plan should include any possible risks or obstacles foreseen by either company. Having solutions in place for multiple scenarios makes the plan easier to execute.

7. Constantly Evaluate the Relationship

Joint business plans work better with trust, mutual respect, and a great working relationship. Keeping the relationship healthy between the companies and individuals relying on each other brings more success to the overall plan. Monitor the relationship periodically and work to resolve conflicts as they arise.

Joint Business Plans at Walmart

Walmart works with its suppliers to create plans for sales and category growth. The company relies on suppliers to bring insights to the table to spot trends and get in front of potential gaps in the business.

Back in 2011, Walmart created a joint business plan with Proctor and Gamble to pick up lost sales in air fresheners. This category was down over 2% across the chain, but P&G brought insights to Walmart on how consumers were purchasing throughout the industry.

Consumers had no problem going to Walmart for aerosol sprays for under a dollar, but would then go to specialty stores to purchase expensive candles in the same scent. Through communicating through the joint business plan, Walmart was able to create excitement around higher price-point items and show the shared shopper they could purchase the extra items in one store.

Positive business collaborations can be extremely beneficial in growing retail sales. Two companies sharing a common vision can build on each other’s best practices and support each other to mutually win at the register.

Suppliers looking for support in their Walmart business have found great collaboration with 8th & Walton. Our team of experts supports suppliers to improve reporting, analytics, supply chain, accounting, and more. To begin a great collaboration with us, request a free 15-minute consultation this week.

About the Author

8th & Walton consists of retail industry experts with a combined 200+ years of Walmart and Walmart supplier experience. Having helped hundreds of CPG companies in their efforts to be better supplier partners to the world's most influential retailer, the 8th & Walton editorial team prides itself on being a go-to resource for Walmart supplier news and insights.

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Joint Business Plan (JBP): Benefits, Best Practices & Objectives

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Last Updated on November 28, 2023 by Arif Chowdhury

Imagine two retail brands, each with their own unique strengths and market presence. Now picture the joint business venture, with two partnering business partners, joining forces to conquer a new market together through joint ventures. This is the power of partnering with other teams in a company – a joint business plan , where executive summaries are created to outline shared goals and maximize potential.

Collaboration is vital in today’s competitive industry landscape. By forming joint ventures, companies can pool their resources, expertise, and networks to unlock new opportunities, expand their reach, and drive growth like never before.

Joint ventures allow companies to collaborate and create stronger teams , leading to increased success. A joint business plan serves as the blueprint for this collaborative venture, outlining key objectives, strategies, and tactics that both parties will execute together.

A well-crafted joint business plan typically includes an executive summary that outlines the purpose and scope of the collaboration. It also details specific marketing initiatives such as promotions or product launches aimed at capturing the target market’s attention. It covers aspects like distribution channels, branding efforts, and sales projections to ensure alignment between both parties.

In this blog post series on joint business plans, we will explore the importance of collaboration in driving success for retailers and companies in today’s fast-paced retail industry. Collaboration is crucial for the success of ventures in the retail industry.

We will delve into the key components of an effective joint business plan and provide real-life examples to illustrate its impact. So buckle up as we embark on this exciting journey towards collaborative success!

Benefits of implementing a joint business plan

Implementing a joint business plan can bring numerous benefits to retailers and companies involved in the venture. Let’s explore some of these advantages in detail:

1. Increased Alignment and Synergy between Partners

One of the key benefits of implementing a joint business plan is the increased alignment and synergy between partners. When all parties in a joint venture are working towards a shared goal, it becomes easier to align joint venture strategies , joint venture objectives, and joint venture activities.

This alignment fosters collaboration and teamwork in the venture, allowing partners to leverage each other’s strengths and expertise.

• Better coordination between teams.
• Shared vision leads to improved decision-making.
• Enhanced trust and mutual understanding.

Example: Imagine two companies collaborating on a marketing campaign. With a joint venture business plan in place, both companies can align their messaging, target audience, and promotional activities for maximum impact.

2. Enhanced Communication and Coordination

Another significant benefit of a joint business plan is the improvement in communication and coordination among partners.

Clear channels of communication are established, ensuring that information flows seamlessly between all parties involved. This enhanced communication enables faster problem-solving, timely decision-making, and efficient resource allocation.

• Regular meetings facilitate open dialogue.
• Improved sharing of information and knowledge.
• Quick resolution of conflicts or issues.

Example: In a joint business plan between a manufacturer and distributor, regular communication helps them stay updated on market trends, customer feedback, and inventory levels. This enables them to make informed decisions regarding production volumes, delivery schedules, and product promotions.

3. Improved Resource Allocation and Cost Optimization

Implementing a joint business plan allows partners to optimize resource allocation effectively. By pooling resources together strategically, partners can reduce duplication of efforts while maximizing efficiency.

This collaborative approach also helps in identifying cost-saving opportunities by streamlining processes or leveraging economies of scale.

• Shared resources lead to reduced costs.
• Elimination of redundant activities.
• Efficient use of available assets.

Example: Two companies in the logistics industry can collaborate on a joint business plan to optimize their transportation routes, thereby reducing fuel costs, minimizing delivery times, and maximizing the utilization of their fleets.

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Best practices for successful joint business planning

1. establishing clear goals and objectives.

To ensure a successful joint business plan, it is crucial to establish clear goals and objectives . This means clearly defining what you want to achieve together with your partner or stakeholders. By setting specific targets, you can align your efforts towards a common purpose.

One way to do this is by using category management principles. This involves analyzing market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscape to identify opportunities for growth. By understanding the category dynamics, you can develop strategies that capitalize on market trends and consumer preferences.

2. Regular Communication and Feedback Among Stakeholders

Effective communication is key in any collaborative effort, including joint business planning. Regularly communicating with your partners and stakeholders helps maintain alignment and fosters a sense of shared responsibility.

By providing feedback throughout the planning process, you can address any issues or concerns promptly. This allows for adjustments to be made in real-time, ensuring that everyone remains on track towards achieving their goals.

3. Creating a Structured Timeline with Defined Milestones

A structured timeline with defined milestones is essential for keeping joint business planning on track. Breaking down the plan into smaller, manageable tasks helps ensure progress is made consistently.

Consider creating a Gantt chart or project timeline that outlines key activities, deadlines, and responsible parties. This visual representation provides clarity on the sequence of tasks and allows for better coordination among team members.

Establishing milestones helps measure progress along the way. Celebrating these achievements boosts morale and keeps everyone motivated throughout the planning process.

4. Developing a Win Strategy

A win strategy focuses on identifying how both parties involved can benefit from the joint business plan. It aims to create mutually beneficial outcomes that drive growth for all stakeholders.

When developing a win strategy, consider factors such as market share gains, revenue growth opportunities, cost savings through economies of scale, or access to new markets or distribution channels.

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Evaluating the progress of a joint business plan

To ensure the success of a joint business plan, it is crucial to regularly evaluate its progress. This evaluation allows you to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), conduct reviews and assessments, and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.

Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Monitoring KPIs is an essential step in evaluating the progress of a joint business plan. These performance metrics provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your plan and help you gauge its success. By tracking KPIs, such as sales growth, revenue generated, or customer satisfaction levels, you can assess whether your joint business plan is delivering the desired results.

Some key performance indicators that are commonly monitored include:

• Sales performance: Keep an eye on how well your products or services are selling. Track factors like sales volume, average transaction value, and conversion rates.
• Promotional effectiveness: Evaluate the impact of marketing campaigns and promotions on driving sales. Measure metrics like click-through rates, website traffic generated from promotions, or coupon redemption rates.
• Product performance: Assess how well specific products are performing in terms of sales numbers, customer feedback, or market share gained.
• Customer satisfaction: Monitor customer feedback and ratings to determine if your joint business plan is meeting their expectations.

Conducting Regular Reviews and Assessments

Regular reviews and assessments are vital for evaluating the progress of a joint business plan. Schedule periodic meetings with all stakeholders involved in the partnership to discuss achievements, challenges faced, and areas that require improvement.

These reviews provide an opportunity to analyze data collected from KPI monitoring and gather insights from each party’s perspective.

During these sessions:

• Share research findings: Present any relevant market research or consumer insights that can inform decision-making processes.
• Discuss results achieved: Review the outcomes achieved so far based on set goals and objectives outlined in the joint business plan.
• Identify bottlenecks and risks: Identify any obstacles or risks that may be hindering progress and brainstorm potential solutions.
• Collaborate on adjustments: Work together to determine necessary adjustments or modifications to the joint business plan, ensuring it remains aligned with changing market dynamics.

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Making Necessary Adjustments to Stay on Track

Flexibility is key when evaluating the progress of a joint business plan. As you monitor KPIs and conduct reviews, you may identify areas where adjustments are required to maximize success. Making these necessary adjustments allows you to adapt your strategies, overcome challenges, and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Consider the following steps for making adjustments:

• Analyze data: Examine the data collected from KPI monitoring and reviews to identify trends or patterns that require attention.
• Identify areas for improvement: Pinpoint specific areas within the joint business plan that need adjustment based on performance gaps or changing market conditions.
• Collaborate with partners: Engage in open discussions with your partners to gather their input and insights regarding potential adjustments.
• Develop action plans: Create detailed action plans outlining the necessary steps to implement changes effectively.
• Monitor results: Continuously monitor the impact of these adjustments on performance metrics and assess their effectiveness.

By regularly evaluating the progress of your joint business plan, monitoring KPIs, conducting reviews, and making necessary adjustments, you can enhance its chances of success. This iterative process ensures that your joint business plan remains aligned with evolving market dynamics and increases your likelihood of achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

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Finding the right partner for joint business planning

Identifying the ideal partner for joint business planning is crucial to the success of any collaborative endeavor .

It requires careful consideration of various factors, including complementary strengths and expertise, compatibility in terms of values and culture, as well as conducting due diligence before entering into an agreement.

Identifying Complementary Strengths and Expertise

When seeking a business partner for joint business planning, it’s essential to identify individuals or organizations with complementary strengths and expertise. This means looking for partners who possess skills and resources that complement your own.

For example, if you’re a manufacturer looking to expand your distribution channels, partnering with a retailer or distributor who has established relationships with consumers can be highly advantageous.

Consider the following when assessing complementary strengths:

• Look for partners who excel in areas where you may have limitations or gaps.
• Seek out individuals or organizations that bring unique perspectives and capabilities to the table.
• Evaluate potential partners based on their track record of success in relevant areas.

Assessing Compatibility in Terms of Values and Culture

In addition to complementary strengths, compatibility in terms of values and culture is vital for a successful partnership. When embarking on joint business planning, you’ll be working closely together towards shared goals.

Therefore, aligning values and having a similar organizational culture can foster effective collaboration.

Here are some considerations when assessing compatibility:

• Evaluate whether your partner shares similar core values such as integrity, transparency, and customer-centricity.
• Assess whether there is alignment in terms of long-term objectives and vision.
• Consider how well your respective cultures will blend together to create a harmonious working relationship.

Conducting Due Diligence Before Entering into an Agreement

Before finalizing any partnership agreement, it’s crucial to conduct thorough due diligence. This involves gathering information about potential partners to ensure they are reliable, trustworthy, financially stable, and have a good reputation within their industry.

Here are some steps to consider during the due diligence process:

• Research: Conduct extensive research on potential partners, including their history, financials, and reputation.
• References: Reach out to their existing or past business partners to gather insights into their reliability and performance.
• Legal Assistance: Engage legal professionals to review contracts and agreements to ensure they protect your interests.
• Pilot Projects: Consider starting with small-scale pilot projects to test compatibility before committing to a long-term partnership.

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Maintaining a common vision and strategic objectives

To ensure the success of a joint business plan, it is crucial to maintain a common vision and strategic objectives with your partner. This involves aligning long-term goals and ensuring a shared understanding of strategic priorities. By continuously reinforcing the importance of collaboration, you can foster a strong partnership that drives mutual growth.

Aligning Long-Term Goals with the Partner’s Vision

When embarking on a joint business plan, it is essential to align your objectives with your partner’s vision.

This alignment ensures that both parties are working towards a common goal and have a clear understanding of each other’s expectations. By taking the time to understand your partner’s vision, you can identify areas where your goals intersect and collaborate effectively.

Ensuring Shared Understanding of Strategic Priorities

In order to execute a successful joint business plan, it is vital to establish shared understanding of strategic priorities.

This involves open communication and regular discussions about the strategies and tactics that will be employed to achieve desired outcomes. By aligning your strategies with those of your partner, you can create synergy and maximize the impact of your joint efforts.

Continuously Reinforcing the Importance of Collaboration

Collaboration is key in any joint business plan, as it allows for the pooling of resources, expertise, and networks. To maintain effective collaboration throughout the partnership, it is important to continuously reinforce its importance.

This can be done through regular check-ins, open communication channels, and providing support where needed. By fostering an environment that encourages collaboration, you can build trust and strengthen the relationship with your partner.

Maintaining a common vision and strategic objectives in a joint business plan requires strong leadership and effective strategy execution. It involves aligning long-term goals with your partner’s vision, ensuring shared understanding of strategic priorities, and continuously reinforcing the importance of collaboration.

You raise the chance of reaching win-win results if you keep this alignment throughout the collaboration. Recall that effective collaborative company planning needs constant communication and a dedication to collaborating to achieve shared objectives.

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Resources to help you get started with joint business planning

Creating a joint business plan can seem like a daunting task, but fear not! There are plenty of resources available to assist you in this process.

Let’s explore some of these resources that can help you get started with joint business planning.

Online Templates for Creating Joint Business Plans

One helpful resource is the availability of online templates specifically designed for creating joint business plans. These templates provide a structured framework that allows you to outline your goals, strategies, and actions in a clear and organized manner.

With pre-defined sections and prompts, these templates make it easier for you to navigate through the planning process.

• Saves time and effort by providing a ready-made structure.
• Ensures consistency and completeness in your joint business plan.
• Provides guidance on what information to include in each section.
• May lack customization options for unique business needs.
• Requires careful adaptation to fit your specific partnership dynamics.

Industry-Specific Case Studies Showcasing Successful Collaborations

Another valuable resource is industry-specific case studies that showcase successful collaborations between businesses. These case studies offer real-life examples of how joint business planning has been implemented effectively across various industries.

By examining these success stories, you can gain insights into best practices, challenges faced, and strategies employed by others in similar partnerships.

• Offers practical examples that demonstrate the benefits of joint business planning.
• Provides inspiration and ideas for implementing collaborative strategies.
• Helps identify potential pitfalls and ways to overcome them.
• May not directly align with your unique partnership situation.
• Limited availability of industry-specific case studies may restrict options for certain sectors.

Expert Guides on Effective Partnership Management

To further support your joint business planning efforts, expert guides on effective partnership management are available as well. These guides provide comprehensive advice on building strong partnerships, fostering collaboration, managing conflicts, and maximizing mutual benefits.

They offer valuable insights from experienced professionals who have navigated the complexities of joint business planning.

• Offers expert advice and proven strategies for successful partnership management.
• Provides step-by-step guidance on various aspects of joint business planning.
• Helps you avoid common pitfalls and challenges associated with partnerships.
• Requires careful adaptation to your specific partnership dynamics.
• May not address industry-specific nuances or challenges.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can any type of business benefit from joint business planning.

Absolutely! Joint business planning is applicable across industries and sectors. Whether you’re a small startup or an established corporation, collaborating with another company through joint business planning can bring numerous benefits such as increased market share, cost savings through shared resources, access to new customer segments, enhanced product offerings, and improved overall competitiveness.

How do I find the right partner for joint business planning?

Finding the right partner for joint business planning starts with identifying companies that complement your strengths and fill gaps in your capabilities. Look for organizations with similar values and strategic objectives but different areas of expertise that can add value to your offerings.

Networking events, industry conferences, trade associations, online platforms are great places to connect with potential partners. Take the time to build relationships, assess compatibility, and ensure alignment before diving into joint business planning.

What are some common challenges in joint business planning?

While joint business planning offers numerous benefits, it can also come with its fair share of challenges. Common obstacles include differences in organizational culture and decision-making processes, conflicting priorities and objectives, resource allocation issues, and communication breakdowns.

The key to overcoming these challenges is open and transparent communication, mutual respect, and a willingness to compromise when necessary.

How do you evaluate the progress of a joint business plan?

Evaluating the progress of a joint business plan requires establishing clear metrics and milestones at the outset. Regularly review these indicators to gauge performance against targets.

Maintain open lines of communication with your partner to address any concerns or roadblocks that may arise along the way. By regularly assessing progress and making necessary adjustments, you can ensure that your joint business plan remains on track towards achieving its objectives.

Are there any resources available to help me get started with joint business planning?

Yes! There are several resources available to assist you in getting started with joint business planning. Industry publications, online forums, webinars, and workshops often provide valuable insights and best practices for successful collaboration.

Consulting firms specializing in strategic partnerships can offer guidance tailored to your specific needs. Don’t hesitate to tap into these resources as you embark on your joint business planning journey.

In today’s competitive business landscape, collaboration is key to success. That’s where joint business planning comes in. By partnering with another company and aligning your goals and strategies, you can unlock a whole new level of growth and profitability. Joint business planning allows you to pool resources, share expertise, and leverage each other’s networks to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

But it’s not just about the immediate gains. Joint business planning sets the foundation for long-term partnerships built on trust and shared vision. It enables you to navigate challenges together, adapt to market changes swiftly, and seize opportunities that may have been out of reach individually. By working hand in hand with a like-minded partner, you can amplify your impact and create a powerful synergy that propels both businesses forward.

Ready to tap into the power of joint business planning? Start by evaluating potential partners who align with your values and objectives. Establish open lines of communication, set clear expectations, and define measurable goals together. Remember, successful joint business planning requires ongoing collaboration and commitment from both parties. With the right partner by your side, there’s no limit to what you can achieve together.

What Is Joint Business Planning?

Joint Business Planning (JBP) helps Consumer Goods suppliers and retailers build winning relationships that benefit both parties and improve the commerce experience through clear insights into the other's needs and recognition of mutual interests.

Charles Redfield

Executive vice president and chief merchandising officer – sam’s club (walmart).

The symbiotic relationship between retailer and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies has, till now, been able to support steady growth based on demand alone. Now, as the Consumer Goods (CG) industry continues to shift away from organic expansion, the need to reach more customers and engage new audiences is more important than ever.

Let's dive in to some of the key shifts our customers are seeing in the retail environment:

Authentic challenger brands are continually entering the market. According to a recent  survey  carried out by McKinsey, 30-40% of consumers have been trying new brands and products during the pandemic. Of these consumers, 12% expect to continue to purchase the new brands after the pandemic. More competition = more difficulty obtaining or retaining market share.

Global supply chain stress has created a multitude of issues for companies seeking to keep costs down. Disruptions in labour markets have seen 15% of companies with insufficient labour for their facilities to keep up with increases in demand, leading to inflation re-emerging as a significant problem for the first time since the 1970s.

Changing consumer needs are not only encouraging the rise of new, healthier alternative brands but also instigating real legislative change. For example, in October 2022, HFSS (High in Fat, Salt & Sugar)  regulations  will see a crackdown on promotions for unhealthy food and drinks, which will have serious repercussions for both suppliers and retailers.

Evan Sheehan

Retail, wholesale & distribution leader - deloitte global.

These shifts have caused retailers to change the way they do business; the traditional playbook needs to be thrown out and rewritten. The diversification we have seen in channels, models and store formats means that retailers’ expectations for suppliers have changed. And, as increasing numbers of authentic challenger brands come to market, competition has never been higher. 

For both retailers and suppliers, Key Account Management (KAM) needs to be revisited. A culture of test & learn in real time needs to be applied to contend with these new market entrants and, with “key accounts contribut[ing] between 40% to 80% of revenue for a branded supplier” in developed markets as indicated by this article by Bain & Company , the time to reinvent is now.

Major incentives for change can be distilled into these three points:

In the past, the CPG industry power dynamic has often favoured the supplier, but this is no longer the case. Only 3% of retailers are in an exclusive relationship with just one supplier in a given category, indicating the clout they hold to sway access to consumers is higher than ever before. With a number of Consumer Goods companies falling prey to a one-size-fits-all to their global business models, they have been losing valuable ground to more specialised, relevant competitors.

For CPG companies, visibility at point-of-sale for their products is vital. For retailers, getting the product in-store to sell is their business. Having retailers being ‘on-side’ and aligned is game-changing for suppliers. 

But, as indicated in the name, Joint Business Plans need to be exactly that: Joint. If the manufacturers arrive at the table with a railroad agenda, offering little to no agency to the retailer, it will be too one-sided and off balanced. If retailers have unrealistic expectations, e.g broad assortments or 24-hour delivery, from certain suppliers, the equilibrium of the plan will be thrown off from the outset. This is where the value of insight-sharing cannot be understated; IGD asserts that both sides must 'be prepared to share information with each other' to achieve success.

Both CPG companies and retailers need to be able to influence the plan and offer respective insights to avoid creating a zero-sum atmosphere.

For companies collaborating on Joint Business Plans, certain proactive steps need to be taken to fit the plan to benefit both parties. Bain & Company have set out five key steps that they have seen Consumer Goods companies take to achieve 'more trustful and productive' relationships and provide significant value.

Entering into a business relationship, such as a JBP, with a full understanding of where a potential partner is in the market is pivotal to a successful collaboration. Being aware of any weaknesses provides the opportunity to address them before they become an issue and impact your business. 

In turn, a complete understanding of your own business’ strengths and weaknesses before embarking on any external partnership is equally important. A Joint Business Plan can only be successful if it truly brings benefit to both the retailers and CPG companies; without this, joint commitment can’t be assured. 

This demands the creation of an environment where retailers and CPG companies can offer total visibility into their data, thereby enabling creation of target audiences and consumer journeys. As indicated by an IGD Industry Survey , ‘Too often trust is the biggest barrier to putting any proposal into action’. Data transparency reduces the possibility of down-the-line surprises and potential derailing of the plan.

While keeping costs down may be advantageous, it is vital not to lose sight of the top priority; understanding the target customer segments. 

Customer data extracted through the collaborative JBP can help maintain product stock levels, illustrate demand and identify trends in product distribution. Without this information, even a theoretically perfect Joint Business Plan will fail. Understanding who the customers are and what they are buying better enables CPG companies and retailers to produce and distribute - keeping the customer’s needs at the crux of their strategy.

It’s important to note that Joint Business plans are not one-size-fits-all; it may take more time to differentiate a plan to make it more tailored to a specific relationship, but the benefits can outweigh the expense.

Research by POI illustrates that 58% of CPG companies are struggling with retailer aligned compliance for store-level promotion execution. Clearly, there is a concerted need to ensure in-real time that assured promotions are being carried out, but 27% of CPG companies do not get any real-time insights into retailer compliance, forcing them to wait until the end of a cycle to make any significant changes.

While promotion compliance isn’t a new issue in the Consumer Goods industry, it can be a major roadblock to a JBP. With teams in the field, far more regular compliance checks can be performed and the information shared much wider, much faster. 

The dialogue between each party needs to continue beyond initial negotiations and agreements. Regular meetings provide opportunities to correct mid-cycle issues, where the retailer and CPG company can align on real-time results and solutions. 

Without clearly defined and tracked performance metrics, the success of the JBP is uncertain. Both parties need to agree on what data sources are going to be reviewed. Expectations must be laid out internally and externally, to establish what each side hopes to get out of the arrangement. This will prevent potential disappointment if or when unaired expectations aren’t met. 

It is also important to have discussed and agreed upon the terms and investment in the JBP. Going into a project aware of the value that each business is adding to the other and being able to quantify the ROI is fundamental to a successful Joint Business Plan.

As shown in the recent Promotion Optimization Institute (POI) State of the Industry Report , 64% of manufacturers have challenges when looking for data from retailers. When data is such a foundational element to gainful retailer partnerships, it needs to be shared. The ideal is to involve teams from across the company including distribution, sales, finance and marketing. Siloed internal communication can negatively impact information sharing and lead to failure of a JBP.

CPG companies need to leverage real-time insights pulled from a range of commercial data sources that allow them to optimize strategies based on their business goals and current supply and promotion constraints. This maximises the value of every dollar invested in trade spend.

Closely aligned with the tenets of Bain's Key Account Management Commercial Excellence framework, Aforza drives Joint Business Planning with an end-to-end platform of core functionalities:

Account 360° View : Gain a complete view of an account's hierarchies and key relationships, as well as visibility into all engagement activity across channels.

Real-time Data & Insights on Account Performance: Get real-time insights, from a range of commercial data sources, across all aspects of your key account performance.

Integrated Trade Promotions: Optimize trade spend and target key customers by displaying a real-time view into promotion performance, inventory levels, sales order insights, budgets & funds, plans & objectives.

Retail Execution Checks from Field Sales Teams: Leverage your teams in the field to check key account compliance and take promotion-based order capture with penny-perfect pricing on mobile; online or offline .

Digital Asset Management : Ensuring all important business documents are centralised and accessible against the account, such as contracts and Joint Business Plans.

Check out this demo from Aforza's Chief Product Officer, Nick Eales, as he showcases how leading Consumer Goods companies are leveraging Aforza to create productive account collaborations that unlock revenue potential like never before:

With industry-leading innovations and capabilities, the Aforza cloud & mobile solution continues to help consumer goods companies sell more and grow faster. Take the first steps now and create productive account collaborations that unlock revenue potential like never before.

Joint Business Planning at WOW Tech

WOW Tech Group was founded in 2018 with the coming together of two industry leaders, Womanizer Group Management GmbH from Germany and Standard Innovation Corporation from Canada.

Their stated mission is to be the premier provider of pleasure products that enable people all over the world to increase the satisfaction of their personal and sexual well-being.

With Aforza, WOW Tech enabled Joint Business Planning by allowing Key Account Managers (KAMs) to easily set up and manage account plans and set sales targets across various KPIs. 

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Joint Business Plans: Top Tips for Successful Retail Collaboration

Our top tips on how to develop a joint business plan with your retail partner..

Aug 21, 2023

Joint Business Plans (JBPs) are strategic collaborations between suppliers and retailers to drive mutual growth and achieve shared business objectives. These plans outline the joint activities, goals, and strategies that both parties will undertake to grow retail sales, enhance profitability, and improve the overall performance of the partnership.

JBPs are usually negotiated once a year, at the start of the retailer's financial year. Most things that happen in that year such as distribution changes and promotional space offered are usually dictated by the JBPs; that doesn’t mean that changes not specified in the JBP won’t happen but in general, they influence the year’s decisions.

Here's a few of our top tips to developing Joint Business Plans:

1. understand the retailer's business objectives:.

Gain a deep understanding of the retailer's overall business strategy, goals, and priorities. 

2. Align with retailer's strategy:

Ensure your business objectives align with the retailer's strategy. Identify areas where your brand or product can contribute to the retailer's goals.

3. Gather data and insights:

Collect relevant data and insights to support your JBP. This includes market research, consumer trends, sales data, and shopper behaviour analysis. 

4. Develop strategies and action plans:

Work together with the retailer to develop strategies and action plans that will help achieve your defined goals. 

5. Communicate and review:

Maintain open and regular communication channels with your buyer throughout the JBP implementation. Schedule periodic meetings to review progress, share insights, discuss challenges, and make any necessary adjustments. 

6. Accountability & Conditionality:

Within the JBP it’s likely you’ll have invested in the retailer to gain additional space or get new products listed etc. Ensure you only pay investment that was linked to changes once that change has been completed by the retailer; this is referred to as conditionality.

Conclusion:

Remember, a successful Joint Business Plan requires strong collaboration and a focus on mutual growth. By aligning goals, strategies, and resources, suppliers and retailers can create a powerful partnership that drives sustainable business success.

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Joint Business Partnership: Everything You Need to Know

A joint business partnership is a business venture taken on by two people or companies with the same goal. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

A joint business partnership is a business venture taken on by two people or companies with the same goal. The two entities forming a joint venture will create a business relationship through the exchange of value of some sort.

What Is a Joint Venture?

A joint venture is a type of business partnership but is different from a basic partnership. When two entities come together to complete a project or other type of short-term business goal, they can form a joint venture using a joint venture agreement. The agreement makes sure both sides are on the same page.

Joint Venture Versus Partnership

Unlike a joint venture, a partnership is meant for a long-term business goal. If the purpose of the joining of two parties is to start and run a business for the foreseeable future, they will likely form a partnership and not a joint venture. The main difference between partnerships and a joint venture is the relationship's duration. Joint ventures take on projects, partnerships are businesses.

When two entities form a joint venture, they enter into a contract and agree to work toward the same specific task. In such an agreement, the two parties involved will likely share the costs of the project whether financially or with manpower. Once the goal is reached or the task is complete, the joint venture will be dissolved.

When two entities form a partnership, they become owners of a business together. This means that they will share in the profits and losses of the business as well as the liability, depending on the type of partnership they choose. Partnerships are meant to continue indefinitely as other businesses do.

Members of a partnership and a joint venture include individuals, groups, or other business structure types. Two corporations can form a partnership or joint venture, or one corporation could form with an individual. Capital cost allowance in a partnership is determined by the provisions laid out in the partnership agreement. Joint ventures typically allow for unlimited capital cost as long as both parties are in agreement.

Basically, a joint venture is a partnership meant for one transaction. Because it is a type of partnership, the same liabilities and rights apply to joint ventures as they do to partnerships.

Why Use a Partnership Agreement?

A partnership agreement is a written or oral agreement, or sometimes it's simply implied, between entities or individuals involved in a partnership. According to the Uniform Partnership Act, used as the law of partnerships in many states, partnership agreements are legally binding and are amendable. They act as a sort of partnership operating agreement like an LLC's operating agreement.

Partnership agreements are very important as they govern the business relationship between those involved in a joint venture or partnership. They lay out the following aspects of the relationship:

• Who the partners are.
• Partner duties and responsibilities.
• Partner investments or contributions.
• Distribution of shares.
• Provision for partnership dissolution or termination.

However, by law, a partnership agreement cannot relieve partners of certain basic responsibilities such as liability (unless forming a liability partnership). It's important to use caution with the wording of a partnership agreement because it can affect how the partners involved can make decisions and changes regarding the business. Without a carefully drafted partnership agreement , you could end up in a situation where your partner is making drastic changes without consulting you.

What Is a Joint Venture Agreement?

A joint venture agreement is essentially a partnership agreement with a few differing aspects. The main difference is that the joint venture agreement must clearly outline the goal of the venture. It should state why the joint venture is being formed and for how long. There are fewer requirements in a joint venture agreement. It need not specify the rights or duties of those involved.

Joint ventures can be formed orally or implied, so a written document is not necessarily required. If two parties are acting as if they have formed a joint venture, but never wrote an agreement, their business relationship is still valid and legal. The lack of a written joint venture agreement can lead to legal issues or miscommunication between the parties, so it is better to form one even though it's not required.

If you need help with a joint business partnership, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

Hire the top business lawyers and save up to 60% on legal fees

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• Partnership Agreement Between Two Limited Companies
• Joint Contract: Everything You Need To Know

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Improve Collaboration and Joint Business Planning Results in 3 Steps

Collaboration is on many organization’s strategic plans, with effective Joint Business Planning (JBP) being the outcome. Retailers’ and Vendors’ have the opportunity to determine mutual areas of interest and build their businesses in a collaborative way — namely by taking steps to improve Shopper satisfaction with a better experience.

However, effective Collaboration and JBP require more than a desire or written strategic plan. Both require that your organization undertake 3 consecutive steps:

• Prepare your organization internally for collaboration;
• Align your internal approach across your multifunctional teams through common training; and
• Implement external Collaboration and Joint Business Planning.

Collaboration and Joint Business Planning can help both Retailers and Vendors manage the change that continues to dominate, including:

• Changing partner needs and expectations between Retailers and Vendors
• Changing market and Shopper,
• Less resources available internally due to downsizing / consolidation, and
• Increased requirements due to more and bigger data and a more complex Shopper.

Here are some resources to help you get started:

• Complimentary Download: Collaborative Relationship Continuum Model
• Course Video Preview: Collaborative Business Planning
• Course Overview:   Collaborative Business Planning

3 Steps: Improved Collaboration and Joint Business Planning 

Step 1: be prepared internally.

It’s important for teams and organizations to first understand what collaboration is: 

Collaboration is highly diversified multifunctional teams   working together inside and outside a Retailer / Vendor with the purpose to create value   by improving innovation, Shopper relationships   and efficiency while leveraging technology for effective interactions in the virtual and physical space. (Carlos Dominguez, Cisco) (modified by Sue Nicholls, CMKG)

Are you ready to collaborate?  Start by defining your assets, prioritizing your opportunities and seeking out the right business partners. The questions below can help determine if your organization is ready to collaborate ( taken from the Category Management Association’s whitepaper on “Strategic Collaboration for Shopper Satisfaction” ):

• What do you want to gain by collaborating?
• Is your company set up to foster and support collaboration?
• What multifunctional resources / data / technology / intellectual property can be shared with your collaborative business partners?

Step 2: Create Internal Alignment

Moving to a collaborative approach requires your multifunctional teams to be able to see the “bigger picture”, turn data into insights, think beyond brand into total category, and better understand the consumer AND Shopper. These responsibilities must be expanded to marketing, sales, private label and retail teams in an aligned approach. 

Alignment of all functions in your organization occurs through engagement and training in category management . In fact, training approaches need to change for most organizations, as traditional “point and click” linear approaches based on a new data source or tactic no longer suffice. In a collaborative approach, teams need to start thinking more strategically about how the decisions and recommendations they make align to the overall strategies for the organization and for their external collaborative business partners. This can be accomplished by equipping multifunctional teams with a common set of knowledge and skills acquired through training courses. 

Role-based training in combination with strategic training will help individuals and teams feel more confident they are making choices and recommendations that match with your overall collaborative efforts and Shopper.

Step 3: Move to External Collaboration and Joint Business Planning

Now that you’ve established where you are currently at with your Retailer or Vendor partners, you can undertake Joint Business Planning (JBP) — the “next level” in a collaborative relationship. JBP should build from foundations established in collaborative relationships.

In theory, Joint Business Planning is a collaborative effort between the Vendor and Retailer which involves open sharing of information. Shared information allows for the creation of a common, mutually-agreed-to business plan. But let me insert a bit of reality into this idyllic definition. From a basic level, it is a business plan that is developed between Vendors and Retailers, through sharing of select information. The plan should include expected trends, initiatives and the forecasted market environment, so that there is a greater chance for the goals and objectives within the plan to be attained. 

The higher the level of collaboration between the organizations, the closer you will move toward the theoretical definition of Joint Business Planning.

A successful Joint Business Plan requires each party to clearly understand the others’ goals, business and customer requirements. This shared understanding becomes the foundation of the JBP, with both businesses pooling their resources and expertise to achieve specific goals. The risks and rewards of the plan are also shared.

While specific approaches vary by Retailer, the following framework from CMKG category management training provides the key steps associated with most joint business planning processes:

Let’s look at the first step for the Retailer – identifying corporate strategies and goals . The Retailer, usually led by the senior management team, creates the sales, cost of goods and operating targets for the upcoming year. When you look at a Retailer’s income statement , there are 3 ways that a Retailer can influence net income:

• increased sales;
• decreased cost of goods sold; and
• decreased operating expenses.

Retailers’ targets will most likely include initiatives behind all three of these components of the income statement to increase their net margin and income. Examples of initiatives may include new store openings, the current market, and private label opportunities for the Retailer. Other initiatives may be based on supply chain upgrades, information technology upgrades, or any other types of business process improvements that will impact the bottom line for the Retailer.

In summary, if you have properly defined collaboration internally and strategically selected your business partners upfront, you are less likely to run into problems. Problems are likely to arise in a Joint Business Plan if:

• There are unclear objectives, one of the parties was not transparent in their sharing of information, or the plan was not properly communicated to everyone involved.
• The partners have different objectives or hidden agendas in the joint venture.
• One party is investing much more in terms of expertise, financial, and/or assets than the other party, creating an imbalance.
• Different cultures and management styles with partners may result in poor integration and cooperation.
• The partners don’t provide sufficient leadership and support in the early stages of the program.

The Opportunity?  For Retailers and Vendors to define mutual areas of interest, build business in a collaborative way, and improve the Shopper experience. 

Want to learn more about Collaborative and Joint Business Planning? Category Management Knowledge Group can help you, your team or your organization through a single online, live or webinar course or a customized program. We have some great category management training options available to meet your needs. You can preview our brand new, accredited  Collaborative Business Planning   course below:

Topics: Category Management , Strategic Collaboration / Joint Business Planning

Written by Sue Nicholls, Founder & President CMKG

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Home » Business Plan Tips

How to Write a Joint Venture Business Plan

A joint venture business plan is a document that defines a business arrangement between two or more companies. Just as with a normal business plan, this plan also includes numerous sections and extensively describes the aim, companies, and responsibilities of each company in the joint venture. This plan also outlines temporary activities that help to attain specific goals.

Coming together to form a joint venture is nothing new in the business world. However, the real deal is to have an arrangement that equally protects the interests of each party so that everyone in the joint venture can put their best creative foot forward. Have it in mind that the best way to guarantee all parties understand their obligations and are fully participating is to put together a detailed joint venture business plan .

Although each company in the venture can put together the business plan, a legal review is often recommended to validate if the plan is legitimate. These plans are also known to be above and beyond a standard business plan. Most often, the plans will vary based on the specifics and interests of each party in the arrangement.

Steps to Write a Joint Venture Business Plan

Forming a joint venture involves several critical steps that begin with identifying and analyzing a viable joint venture partner to agree with. This sort of agreement requires well-detailed documentation and other allied/ancillary agreements. To write a solid joint venture business plan, here are steps to take;

Step 1: Write a Detailed Company Profile

Although this wouldn’t be the first page of your joint venture business plan, it is often recommended you start the writing process by first providing a brief description of each company involved in the joint venture. You have to include the management teams of each company, the resources, or goods available, and every other detail vital to the joint venture.

Consider creating a profile to briefly describe the partners in the agreement. You should also outline the expertise of each company and the reason for inclusion in the joint venture. You may also have to write a statement on the purpose of the joint venture as well.

Step 2: Spell Out your Marketing Strategies

The next step will be to discuss the market strategies you intend to leverage to achieve success for the joint venture. Just as with a normal business plan, it needs to define the market the goods and services are meant for. This section will also need to contain a thoroughly done analysis, graphs, and all other vital information that describes the market and why the joint venture will attain success.

Most often, companies in the agreement are advised to cooperate on this section to put together an analysis from each partner. Have in mind that the length and detail of this section will depend on the purpose of the joint venture; a competitive analysis may also be necessary.

Step 3: Input your Financial Projections

Note that every joint venture business plan is expected to include financial projections. While this may be the final section of the business plan, it will include information specific to product prices and cost of goods or services sold, and possible expenses from the activities.

You may need to include Pro forma financial statements in this section. Note that these statements provide a formal look at potential profits and let banks or lenders properly evaluate the venture’s possibility for success. Other statements or documents may also be included in this section.

Step 4: Your Executive Summary

Although the Executive Summary will be the first page of the joint venture business plan, it is always recommended you write it last. This page of your joint venture business plan provides a concise view of the business agreement. Depending on the joint venture activities, the section of the business plan will span anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages.

Important Clauses to Include in a Joint Venture Business Plan

A joint venture business plan is the bedrock of any joint venture. It outlines the objective and purpose of the joint venture. Have in mind there are ideal clauses a joint venture agreement is expected to contain. Here are very important clauses that should be inserted in the joint venture business plan:

Definitions

It is critical for every business plan to have a clause that defines all the necessary terms in the plan. This is primarily to avoid any form of misunderstanding and misinterpretation in the plan. Have it in mind that certain words or terms are given confining definitions for the purpose of interpretation of the plan. This clause will help guarantee a mutual understanding between the parties as to what a certain term means.

Parties to the Joint Venture

A joint venture business plan is meant to identify all the parties involved in a joint venture. Have in mind that there is a possibility that the original party won’t be the investing party, and the investing party may be the parent company of the original party. In such circumstances, this clause is very necessary to ensure that the joint venture agreement is binding to the investing parties as well as the original parties.

Nature of the Relationship

This is one of the most vital functions of the joint venture business plan. This clause in a business plan is meant is to outline the nature of the relationship between the joint partners, whether the parties owe any contractual obligations to one another, or whether the arrangement is just a contractual relationship where each party remains at arm’s length.

Business Objectives and Purpose of the Joint Venture

Note that this clause outlines the purpose why the joint venture was established. There are numerous reasons why businesses enter into a joint venture, from expanding their markets to completing a specific project. The purpose of the joint venture will need to be extensively considered before proceeding with finding a joint venture partner.

The Structure of the Joint Venture

This clause will have to include details about what structure the joint venture will be, such as an LLC, LLP, or incorporated. This clause shall also contain the details of the formation of the joint venture thereof. It shall also mention the registered office and the location where the joint venture will be carrying out its business.

Parties’ Contributions

This clause will note if the work will be split 50/50, who’s bringing what to the table, and what you can expect from the other person or company. Outlining this in your joint venture business plan in detail will ensure that all partner’s expectations are aligned. This is to ensure that each party understands what they will be committing to the venture, and also to ensure that they are bound by that commitment.

Distribution of Shares

The shareholding of all the partners will have to be outlined under this clause. Note that the distribution of shares is a very important aspect as the shareholdings will more or less dictate the proportion of ownership among shareholders.

Note that distributions of shares must not be 50:50; they can vary depending on the agreement between all parties. The shares can be distributed by a mutually agreed ratio or based on the capital contribution of the parties.

Rights and Obligations of the Parties

Indeed every party in a joint venture has certain rights that they can exercise and certain obligations. In the joint venture business plan, this clause will have to explain in detail everything that is expected from the parties. This is to limit or avoid future disputes and misunderstandings.

Joint venture business plans will need to explain who will manage the venture and take care of its day-to-day operations. It will also specify different levels of approval for different types of decisions.

Some joint ventures agree to establish a management committee instead of appointing the board of directors where the joint venture has been entered into for a particular short-term project. The mode of management needs to be explicitly outlined in the joint venture business plan.

Representation and Warranties

Note that these are statements of fact made by the parties entering into the joint venture. Representations and warranties are more or less made before entering into an agreement and such representations and warranties will also have to be mentioned in the joint venture business plan.

Representations and warranties are necessary so that the parties have adequate and vital information about each other such as financial standings of the parties or the loans taken by the parties, pending litigation, etc.

Indemnity Clause

Indemnity is a legal obligation on the parties to compensate the other party in case of breach of any contractual obligation. Most often, the party that suffers due to a breach of representations and warranties is entitled to be indemnified for the losses. Have it in mind that the indemnity clause will have to be fair, mutually agreed upon, and well balanced. The language and scope of this clause will also need to be clear and precise.

Dispute Resolution

In all business arrangements, there are bound to have disagreements and issues. While these issues will not always lead to litigation, it is recommended that all parties agree on a mechanism to deal with such situations.

Each party in a joint venture can be from different jurisdictions and governed by varying laws. Therefore the mechanism to resort to in case a dispute arises will need to be mutually agreed upon by the parties and explicitly noted in the plan.

Non-compete clause

This is a very important clause to include in a joint venture business plan. Depending on the nature of the agreement, it might be necessary to note that the two businesses are restricted from directly competing with one another, at least for a stipulated time. However, the non-compete clause will need to be reasonable otherwise it might be treated as a violation of a person’s fundamental right to trade.

Confidentiality

Within a joint venture agreement, parties are expected to disclose certain vital information concerning the company. Note that this information can be related to technology, trade secrets, or intellectual property. The information in the wrong hands might cause the party to incur massive losses.

This is why this clause is very important in a joint venture business plan. The clause may also need to provide that the information disclosed for the joint venture should never be used for personal gains.

Force Majeure

This clause is used to provide relief and protection to a party in a situation where the party is unable to meet some of its obligations. Note that this inability to fulfill obligations may be due to events that are totally beyond the control of the parties. The event could be a flood or an earthquake or a fire so on and so forth.

Termination

You need to understand that not every joint venture survives long and is often terminated. Owing to that, this clause will have to be included in the joint venture business plan. The termination clause centers on instances, breaches, or the occurrence of which the joint venture will be terminated.

Exit Mechanism

Even while still under an agreement, there can be many reasons why the parties would want to exit the joint venture. This could include short of funds or the joint venture going into a loss for some time. It is very common for a party to want out of the joint venture, maybe due to certain unresolved issues. Owing to that, the exit mechanism will need to be noted in the joint venture plan.

Deadlock Resolution

Deadlocks tend to arise when the parties in the joint venture have equal powers and are finding it hard to agree on a common conclusion.

Note that things like this can lead to disagreement especially when neither party is ready or willing to surrender their powers or accept the other party’s decision. While this cannot be entirely avoided in a joint venture, you should establish a mechanism that will help the parties to come to a common agreement or to resolve the deadlock.

Financial and Administrative Record Keeping

All parties in the joint venture must collaborate on maintaining their financial records. They also need to decide the process of administrative record keeping. While this may not be necessary, it is good practice for joint ventures to work with one accounting firm that is agreed upon by all members. This will help to limit the risk of any conflict of interest or complications in the future.

Intellectual Property

For joint ventures that will produce intellectual property that is of potential value to each of the parties, this clause is very necessary to avoid the risk of one party attempting to take advantage of the other’s intellectual property. This clause in the joint venture business plan should note who will own any new intellectual property created by the venture, and the extent to which the parties are permitted to use that property outside the venture.

More on Business Plan Tips

Taking supplier collaboration to the next level

Companies with advanced procurement functions know that there are limits to the value they can generate by focusing purely on the price of the products and services they buy. These organizations understand that when buyers and suppliers are willing and able to cooperate, they can often find ways to unlock significant new sources of value that benefit them both.

Buyers and suppliers can work together to develop innovative new products, for example, boosting revenues and profits for both parties. They can take an integrated approach to supply-chain optimization, redesigning their processes together to reduce waste and redundant effort, or jointly purchasing raw materials. Or they can collaborate in forecasting, planning, and capacity management—thereby improving service levels, mitigating risks, and strengthening the combined supply chain.

Earlier work has shown that supplier collaboration really does move the needle for companies that do it well. In one McKinsey survey of more than 100 large organizations in multiple sectors, companies that regularly collaborated with suppliers demonstrated higher growth, lower operating costs, and greater profitability than their industry peers (Exhibit 1).

Despite the value at stake, however, the benefits of supplier collaboration have proved difficult to access. While many companies can point to individual examples of successful collaborations with suppliers, executives often tell us that they have struggled to integrate the approach into their overall procurement and supply-chain strategies.

Barriers to collaboration

Several factors make supplier collaboration challenging. Projects may require significant time and management effort before they generate value, leading companies to prioritize simpler, faster initiatives, even if they are worth less. Collaboration requires a change in mind-sets among buyers and suppliers, who may be used to more transactional or even adversarial relationships. And most collaborative efforts need intensive, cross-functional involvement from both sides, a marked change to the normal working methods at many companies. This change from a cost-based to a value-based way of thinking requires a paradigm shift that is often difficult to come by.

The actual value generated by collaborating can also be difficult to quantify, especially when companies are also pursuing more conventional procurement and supply-chain improvement strategies with the same suppliers, or when they are simultaneously updating product designs and production processes. And even when companies have the will to pursue greater levels of supplier collaboration, leaders often admit that they don’t have the skill, lacking the structures they need to design great supplier-collaboration programs, and being short of staff with the capabilities to run them. After all, what great supplier collaboration necessitates is much more than the mere application of a process or framework—it requires the buy-in and long-term commitment of leaders and decision makers.

A shared perspective

To understand more about the factors that hamper or enable supplier-collaboration programs, we partnered with Michigan State University (MSU) to develop a new way of looking at companies’ use of supplier collaboration. The Supplier Collaboration Index (SCI) is a survey- and interview-based benchmarking tool that assesses supplier-collaboration programs over five major dimensions (Exhibit 2).

During 2019, researchers from McKinsey and MSU rolled out the Index in a pilot project involving a dozen leading consumer-goods companies in North America, along with ten to 15 of each company’s strategic suppliers. We collected more than 300 written responses from more than 130 organizations, and conducted in-depth interviews with around 60 buyer and supplier executives. The work provides some important insights on the state of supplier collaboration today, revealing the elements of collaboration that companies and suppliers believe are working well, and the areas that present the greatest challenges.

The results of our consumer-industry benchmark are summarized in Exhibit 3, with average buyer and supplier perceptions of their own collaboration programs rated from one (low) to ten (high) in each of the five dimensions.

Overall, the research reveals close alignment between buyers and suppliers on the relative strength of most dimensions. It also shows a clear drop in perceptions of strength as the discussion moves from theory (strategic alignment) to execution (value creation and sharing, organizational governance).

The in-depth interviews conducted with senior buyer and supplier personnel as part of the SCI data-collection process provide further insights into the challenges companies face in each of the five dimensions, while also revealing some examples of best practices that lower-performing companies can emulate.

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Achieving strategic alignment.

Benchmark participants understood who their strategic suppliers are, although they do not all use formal segmentation approaches to categorize their supply bases. Likewise, suppliers understood their strategic importance to their customers. Buyers and suppliers agreed that there was good alignment on the pursuit of sources of value beyond cost—but also agreed that their efforts to capture these value sources were not always successful.

The first step for an organization is to define what it wants to achieve from its collaboration efforts, and what it needs to do to realize those goals. Internal alignment and commitment by senior managers to ensure appropriate resources are available is also critical. For example, in a quest to develop more sustainable detergents, Unilever partnered with Novozyme—a major supplier of enzymes— to jointly develop new enzyme solutions. The collaboration leveraged each party’s strengths, merging Unilever’s understanding of which types of stains and materials were most relevant with Novozyme’s reagent-optimization capabilities. The partnership resulted in two enzyme innovations that improved product performance, increased market penetration, and allowed the company to target premium-branded competitors. Moreover, the new formulation performed well at lower temperatures, helping customers save energy and reduce CO2 emissions.

Joint business planning

Joint business planning is a collaborative planning process in which the company and its supplier align on short- and long-term business objectives, agree on mutual targets, and jointly develop plans to achieve set objectives (exhibit). It brings a formal approach to collaboration with suppliers and helps to engage stakeholders from different functions in the collaboration effort.

Joint business planning works best when companies have a clear understanding of the strategic suppliers with which they want to engage, and where they have strong core supplier management capabilities in place. The approach can be applied at several levels. At its simplest, joint planning can involve aligning on metrics and value sharing agreements. At its most advanced it can include joint investment to create new sources of value.

Other organizations participating in SCI have introduced formal methods to promote greater strategic alignment, such as by introducing a joint business-planning approach. The buyer and supplier align on short- and long-term business objectives, set out mutual targets, and jointly develop plans to achieve objectives. Areas of opportunity for collaboration include growth, innovation, productivity, quality, and margins (see sidebar, “Joint business planning”).

Communication and trust

Buyers and sellers both describe high levels of trust in relationships that they consider strategic. In most cases, that trust has been built up over time, based on longstanding business relationships. Companies involved in collaborations tend to appreciate each other’s capabilities, understand each other’s businesses, and believe that their partners will stick to the commitments they make.

Companies are less convinced, however, that their partners will be ready to put the interests of the collaboration above the interests of their own organization. Many interview participants noted that greater transparency over sensitive areas such as costs was key to attaining the highest level of collaboration, but said that this goal was often difficult to achieve.

Building trust takes time and effort. Often this means starting small, with simple collaboration efforts that deliver results quickly, building momentum. This way, companies can demonstrate a serious approach to collaboration and their willingness to share gains fairly. More importantly, companies should base their relationships on transparency and information sharing as a foundation, with the expectation that greater trust will follow.

Cosmetics company L’Oréal follows this approach to encourage collaborative innovation. Through open dialogs concerning company goals and long-term commitment, L’Oréal has been able to establish an effective codevelopment process. The company’s annual “Cherry Pack” exhibition, for example, offers suppliers a preview of the consumer trends that the company will be working on, and asks them to develop packaging solutions in harmony with these trends. During the exhibition, L’Oréal creates a trust-based forum for suppliers to present the ideas and products in development—including ideas that have yet to be patented. The forum thus gives suppliers access to practical short- and long-term ideas and projects that ultimately accelerate packaging innovation.

Cross-functional engagement

To generate value from changes in manufacturing methods, quality-assurance regimes, or supply-chain processes, representatives from the respective functions on both sides of the partnership will need to work together. Yet this type of cross-functional engagement is something most benchmark participants find extremely difficult. Executives reported that while traditional relationships—such as those between buyers and supplier sales teams, or suppliers and buyer R&D functions—were strong, wider cross-functional engagement was patchy and poorly managed at best.

Improving cross-functional engagement is a leadership issue. Organizations with the most successful collaboration programs use a formal approach to manage cross-functional teams, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities on both sides of the partnership, backed by changes to internal incentive systems to promote full participation in collaboration projects.

Some companies, such as P&G, have taken a step further in creating cross-functional teams solely focused on joint innovation with suppliers. By creating a practice of “open innovation,” P&G aimed to coordinate its efforts and leverage the skills and interests of people throughout the company to assess the competitive landscape, identify types of innovation that can help develop disruptive ideas, and identify appropriate external partners. For innovation to work, P&G has stressed the need to integrate cross-functional teams that, in turn, integrate business strategy with operations—which requires a broad network of interactions.

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Value creation and sharing.

The pursuit of shared value is the reason buyers and suppliers take part in collaboration projects, so unsurprisingly procurement executives consider it the most important dimension of their collaboration efforts. Yet few participants in our study track the impact of collaboration on sources of value beyond cost reductions. Where companies have tracked the impact of collaboration projects on revenues, margins, or other metrics, they have done so only for a handful of high-profile projects.

For buyers, additional volume remains the most common way that the extra value created by collaboration projects is shared. Some partnerships had made use of other types of value sharing, such as performance-based incentives for suppliers. Where these approaches were employed, both buyers and suppliers were happy with the results. That suggests significant opportunity for companies to expand their use of such approaches, provided they can reach agreement on cost baselines and incentive structures.

Cleansheet cost modeling

Many of the potential sources of value targeted by supplier-collaboration efforts depend upon a mutual understanding of the true costs of a product or service. Achieving that sort of transparency can, however, be difficult in buyer-supplier relationships. Suppliers may be reluctant to reveal too much about their own manufacturing processes and costs, fearing that this information will be used against them in negotiations, and buyers may not want to let suppliers know just how critical they are.

Cleansheet cost-modeling approaches have risen to prominence in recent years as a tool to allow an open, fact-based cost discussion between buyers and suppliers. A cleansheet calculates the cost of each step during the creation of a product, component, or service, using a database of information on the materials, labor, factory space, equipment, time, and energy required to complete each step—and the implications for the desired product volumes on the utilization of those resources.

Cleansheet cost transparency helps collaboration partners generate ideas for design and process improvements. The approach can also underpin value-sharing agreements, allowing organizations to establish clear cost baselines and measure improvements against them.

Cost transparency is a critical enabler here. Some companies have found cleansheet cost modeling to be a very effective way to conduct fact-based discussions on costs and improvement opportunities with their collaboration partners (see sidebar, “Cleansheet cost modeling”).

ASML, a lithography-equipment manufacturer for the semiconductor industry, operates a value-sharing mechanism for its suppliers. The company allows suppliers to maintain healthy margins (as a volatility buffer), provides financing for the infrastructure needed to make its products, and offers staggered purchase guarantees. In this way, ASML incentivizes and rewards its strategic suppliers for prioritizing its business, gains access to cutting-edge technology, and reduces costs and improves stability in an industry with short lifecycles affected by substantial swings in demand.

Throughout its long history of collaboration with suppliers, P&G has used a wide range of commercial models to partner with suppliers across the entire R&D chain. Its value-sharing models range from shared fund pools for codevelopment of products to licensing agreements for commercialization. The flexibility to employ different mechanisms has allowed P&G to tap into supplier innovation without the need to overinvest in the development of deep partnerships with every potential collaborator.

Organization and governance

Like cross-functional engagement, the organization and governance of supplier-collaboration programs suffers from a lack of formal structures and processes. Interviewees admitted that their companies, both buyers and suppliers, were relatively lax in tracking and valuing their supplier-collaboration efforts. Few organizations had done anything to align the incentives of project participants within their own organizations, and most relied on informal mechanisms to share feedback or review progress with partners.

Introducing a clearer governance structure for the overall supplier-collaboration program and for individual projects has the potential to significantly improve outcomes in most organizations. Two-way scorecards, for example, allow buyers and suppliers to let each other know if they are effectively supporting the goals of the program. Governance of collaboration projects should be cross-functional, with appropriate incentives introduced throughout the organization to encourage full participation and ensure both parties pursue long-term win-win opportunities, not just short-term savings.

Supplier advisory boards

A supplier advisory board (or council) serves as a neutral and collaborative forum for the exchange of ideas between the host company and a group of strategic suppliers. Such boards are widely used by companies with mature procurement organizations, and they do so for a variety of reasons. A board may advise on key industry trends, risks, and potentially disruptive threats in the supplier ecosystem. Or they may provide a place for companies to explore the potential impact of business decisions on sourcing strategy. Some boards act as a hub for projects to improve operational processes between the company and its suppliers. Others are assembled to support special projects, such as joint innovation programs or sustainability initiatives.

An advisory board is usually chaired by an executive business sponsor and sourcing lead. Buyer-side members include representatives of multiple functions, such as marketing, legal, and R&D. On the supplier side, companies usually nominate a lead strategic supplier, along with around a dozen supplier board members chosen from the strategic supplier base. Those suppliers are selected after evaluation against a matrix of criteria determined by the objectives of the board.

Several leading organizations have created supplier advisory boards to provide high-level support and guidance for their supplier-management and supplier-collaboration programs. These boards act as a forum for the supplier base to advise on key issues and collaborate with the organization to further its business agenda. Companies use their supplier advisory boards to help manage risks and disruptive threats to the supplier ecosystem, and such boards also serve as a neutral space for the exchange of ideas between the host company and a group of strategic suppliers (see sidebar, “Supplier advisory boards”).

Toyota has been a prominent example of supplier collaboration, whose success can be explained in part by the use of clearly defined targets and supplier-performance metrics. These are built into contracts that hold suppliers accountable for continued improvements in quality, cost, and delivery performance. The company governs supplier relationships using a steering committee, staffed with relevant senior stakeholders from both organizations, to define the scope and objectives of the collaboration, review progress, and take action to remove roadblocks and resolve issues as they arise.

The Supplier Collaboration Index has already revealed several major opportunities for companies seeking to expand and improve their supplier-collaboration efforts. Some of those opportunities are quite straightforward, such as more proactive management of cross-functional teams involved in collaboration projects, or the introduction of formal governance systems to manage those projects. Others, such as greater cost transparency between buyers and suppliers, or the use of performance-based supplier-incentive mechanisms, may require more time and effort to achieve.

Excelling at supplier collaboration requires a more active and engaged working relationship with suppliers. It also calls for a change in mindset, encouraging both buyers and suppliers to commit to the long-term pursuit of value from their collaborative relationships. We end with eight steps that any organization can take to put its collaboration efforts on the right track.

• Start by identifying those suppliers that offer unique joint opportunities to create and retain significant value.
• Align strategically with these partners to define joint objectives and develop a compelling business case for both parties.
• Adopt a methodical and structured approach to define the scope, pace and targets for joint projects, including a clear methodology on how to measure value creation.
• Define simple, clear value-sharing mechanisms, and align incentives of the cross-functional team accordingly.
• Invest in allocating the appropriate resources and building the required infrastructure to support the program.
• Create a governance model focused on performance, implementation tracking, and hardwiring supplier collaboration into core operational processes.
• Foster a culture founded in proactive communication, transparency, consistency, and knowledge sharing, to strengthen long-term partnerships.
• Invest in building world-class organizational capabilities to ensure sustainability over time.

For any organization seeking to improve the performance of its procurement practices, supplier collaboration can no longer be considered a nice-to-have. As companies reach the limits of conventional purchasing practices, further progress will require a new approach based on close relationships, cross-functional engagement, and the shared pursuit of new value.

Agustin Gutierrez is a partner in McKinsey’s Mexico City office; Ashish Kothari is a partner in the Denver office, Carolina Mazuera is a consultant in the Miami office, and Tobias Schoenherr is the Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Professor of Purchasing and Supply Management at Michigan State University.

The authors wish to thank Juby Cherian, Pat Mitchell, and Valeria Saborio for their contributions to this article.

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Joint business planning resource guide.

Joint Business Plan: what's the point? .

It’s around this time that manufacturers and retailers agree joint business plans, or JBPs, for the coming year. But JBPs can be a very mixed bag, so if you’re going to do one, it’s essential you do it in the right way and for the right reasons. JBPs come in just three flavours, so which one is right for each of your major relationships?

The Sales Plan:

It’s the most common form of JBP but, in reality, it’s nothing more than a 12-month promotion calendar. Periods of trading, interspersed with launches and deals. It’s a low-value exercise. At best it helps you coordinate activity, stock, and investment across the year, but it’s never going to transform your businesses, so don’t waste much time on it.

The Battle Plan:

This flavour of JBP is really a competitive negotiating tool, to be used to gain specific commitments and concessions. A retailer may be offered extra promotions for a cost price increase. A manufacturer might be promised volume growth in return for more investment. The numbers in the plan are only there to support the negotiation, and to be used as a beating stick, for one side or the other, during the year. It’s a hard-nosed deal for a 12-month period, so it needs time, focus and planning.

The Strategic Plan:

The “strategic” JBP is very different. It requires an open, collaborative relationship. It starts with an ambitious vision of where the relationship could be in the future, where it could add genuine value for customers, and where it could create something new, different and worthwhile. The strategy is as much about joint initiatives as it is about buying and selling, and it may outline a plan that will run for the next several years.

BOTTOM LINE:  you can’t collaborate with someone intent on competing with you. But for those relationships where you can collaborate, the rewards from a strategic JBP can be huge. Choose the right approach, set appropriate objectives, and adopt a style to maximise the opportunity. Don’t waste your time going through the motions – there’s really no point.

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Published May 27, 2021

Joint success plan: an essential tool for driving outcome-based customer success.

A joint business plan is a guide that balances company expectations and customer expectations around the value proposition. Read on to tap this growth.

Every business has realized the importance of an  outcome-based selling  for customer success. A joint success plan is but a means to do it. Let me break this down for you. A joint success plan is a means to the end of customer success based on value. A joint success plan is a powerful and simple tool for outcome-based customer success management. The main aim of a joint success plan is to help solution providers align their processes with their customers’ goals and objectives. Customer success is a practice that helps companies achieve recurring revenue. The range of responsibilities of a CSM is huge. This is why they need simple tools and plans that will help them achieve their goals internally of using company’s products and services. 

This will help start outcome-based customer success that creates customer advocates who will refer customers who may have higher rates. You can engage customers in an outcome-oriented manner. The tool is called Joint Success Plan and it helps CSMs improve, capture, communicate, measure, and execute against customer goals.

What is a Joint Success Plan? 

A joint success plan is one that is a collaborative one that is based on working hand in hand with your customer to build a plan. This will help drive success, improve alignment, establish ownership, and regulate activities required to achieve goals. The joint success plan is a strategic communication driver that blends information from customer executives and various stakeholders.  

Joint success plan is a collaboration between stakeholders and customer success facing teams. These customer success executives are concerned with outcomes over anything else. This is why they work backward from outcomes to build plans that will work.  

This customer facing tool is one that is used for growing customer accounts in an engaging manner. Joint success plans have information captured for various exercises that will increase alignment with customers.  

The three limbs of joint success plan are-  

• Outcomes are the business benefits that customers look for in our products or services which should be in line with the value proposition.  
• Operational execution is a term for meeting various milestones and completing activities.  
• Objectives are the goals that need to be achieved. It also includes the KPIs in mind to measure progress.

Structure of a Joint Success Plan for Outcome-based Customer Success 

A joint success plan has a structure and includes the following sections-  

The Relationship Brief  

What are the key objectives- reduce inventory costs, increase buyer efficiency, and achieve revenue growth? This also needs to keep in mind the ultimate decision maker who is responsible for money. This can include champions who are responsible for company and product promotion.  

Expected Outcomes  

Anticipated value is the ongoing business outcomes that is offered. This means the  value proposition  of the company. What are the problems they are solving? What are the benefits of it?  

Objectives and key results  

OKRs or objectives are the business outcome drivers for any goal. Objectives are not adoption goals. They are like a personal goal sheet of the company. CSMs need to align these business objectives with the customer. The key results are the SMART goals which is known to the business world.  

KPIs and Milestones  

Key activities in this section include actions that will meet objectives and realize outcomes. Joint success plans are an executive level summary document that helps meet tasks. These are milestones or targets that you want to meet. For example: Stay in touch with the customer X number of times.  

Risks  

A joint success plan is one that involves risks that prevent a customer from meeting their objectives. It needs to outline risks that are constructive and elevate concerns of customers to eradicate the problems and improve business outcomes.  

Joint Success Plan for Customer Success  

How to execute a joint success plan .

Joint success planning is a simple concept. You can start inducing joint success plans with strategic customers- those with good ARR, MRR, referral sources, cross sells, upsells, and license expansion rates. Choose certain key retention accounts. Collaborate with your team and craft a plan that can help your customer. Show the plan to the executive members and get their approval. The joint success plan is an action plan that your account management staff and customers can use. Real-time reports can help understand progress or the level of value delivered. The joint success plan is a key indicator of customer account health. A scalable solution is necessary for success planning, customer engagement, and more. So to get the best results from joint success plan, you need to-  

• Identify common objectives  
• Find what is considered value by customers  
• Offer in-app and emailed surveys to customers  
• Allow customers to select the outcomes they want to achieve  
• Create digital campaigns that prompt better outcomes  
• Have an online community platform that connects customer to each other so they can learn, brainstorm, and grow mutually  

Bottom Line  

A joint success plan is a guide to customer relationships. It helps drive better executive-stakeholder engagement. It helps customers get the value they signed up for. It helps customer success managers drive the business outcomes. This is when customers succeed, grow, expand, and renew naturally. A joint success plan is a valuable asset that helps manage company expectations/goals and customer expectations/goals to achieve mutual success and growth.

Kruthan Appanna is a Customer Success Analyst with 5 years of experience. Passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to drive customer satisfaction and retention. Skilled in building strong client relationships and providing strategic solutions.

Published May 27, 2021, Updated June 07, 2023

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How To Start Writing A Business Plan That Works

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For the entrepreneur, knowing how to start writing a business plan can be as exhilarating as it is overwhelming. The business plan is a foundational document and the blueprint of your business and is critical for securing funding, setting clear goals, and communicating your vision to the world.

Let’s explore the significance of a business plan, the essential elements it should include, and strategies to forge a plan that resonates with stakeholders and steers your business toward success.

Whether you are about to launch your first business or need to revitalize an existing business strategy, a business plan provides the foundation that supports your entrepreneurial journey.

Why a Business Plan Is Needed

A business plan is not solely for the benefit of a bank manager or an investor . The business plan is a document that helps bring clarity to your vision and can guide every decision and strategy within your company.

A well written business plan forces you to put your goals and ideas into concrete, manageable steps. It cuts through the noise, ensuring you stay focused on what truly matters for your business’s growth.

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For startups looking to secure that critical initial investment, a business plan is often the first point of reference for potential backers. It’s a chance to sell your vision, show your financial acumen, and demonstrate a roadmap to profit.

Identifying potential pitfalls early is a vital aspect of proactive business ownership. A good business plan helps you prepare for the unexpected and develop strategies to mitigate risk and safeguard the longevity of your business.

Setting clear, measurable goals in your business plan provides a framework for tracking your progress. This will give you the insight needed to pivot or double down on strategies as the market dictates.

Creating Your Story

Before you start drafting sections and compiling data, step back and consider the story of your business. Your plan should be like a good book, with a clear narrative arc that compels the reader from the first sentence to the last.

Any good story is rooted in an understanding of the world it inhabits. Your business's narrative begins with a comprehensive analysis of the industry in which you operate, as well as the consumers you aim to serve.

Think about how you define your unique selling proposition (USP) . What sets your business apart from competitors? All good stories have a unique twist, and your business plan should articulate what makes your venture different from, and better than, the competition.

Introduce your team into the story. Highlight their expertise, experience, and any relevant achievements that lend credibility to the business’s ability to execute on its vision.

Writing Your Business Plan Is Just the Beginning

A business plan can span from a quick roadmap sketched on the back of a napkin to a hefty document carefully crafted to align with industry standards. Regardless of size, it should contain certain fundamental elements .

The act of writing a business plan, while pivotal, is just the first step in an ongoing process of refinement and execution.

Here’s how to make sure your business plan is a living document:

1. Regular reviews and updates

Markets shift, consumer behavior changes, and your business will grow. Your plan must evolve with these factors, which makes regular reviews and updates a must-do.

2. Be realistic

It’s essential to be both ambitious and realistic in your plan. Don’t over-inflate projections or underestimate costs. An unrealistic plan is as unattractive to investors as a lack of vision and ambition.

3. Seek professional input

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Experienced business advisors, accountants, and mentors can provide invaluable feedback and spot issues you may have missed.

4. Start small

Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. Write down your initial thoughts, outline your ideas, and refine them over time. Starting with a large plan can be intimidating but working on it gradually can be a more manageable and effective approach.

The bottom line is that writing a business plan can feel overwhelming, but with the right approach and attention to detail, you can create a document that not only articulates your vision but actively works to make that vision a reality. It’s a living, breathing narrative that outlines your business’s course of action, and should be treated with care and enthusiasm.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business . She is the founder of She Means Profit, which is a podcast and blog . As a Finance Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps successful business owners increase their profit margins so that they keep more money in their pocket and increase their net worth.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

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The battle over Disney’s future is about to be decided in a high stakes board vote

A bitter fight over the future of Disney is set to be decided this week as one of the most expensive proxy battles ever comes to a head at a high-stakes shareholder vote on Wednesday.

At issue is Disney’s ( DIS ) stock price, which has risen nearly 50% over the last six months but has still failed to placate the desire of some investors, who are seeking a higher return. Should activist investors secure a seat on the company’s board, they hope to shake up the Magic Kingdom and its sprawling empire, which stretches from animation to streaming services to theme parks.

Two competing slates of board seats are now up for a vote against Disney’s. One is led by Trian Fund Management, which has nominated its 81-year-old founder Nelson Peltz, the renowned billionaire corporate raider, and Jay Rasulo, a former Disney chief financial officer. And another smaller challenge comes from Blackwells Capital, which is seeking three seats.

The real challenge ,  though ,  comes from Peltz, whose alliance with former Marvel chief Ike Perlmutter could spell real change at Disney, should they be successful.

Peltz has criticized Disney’s recent theatrical flops and said the company should reach “Netflix-like margins” with its Disney+ streaming service, among other issues. The activist investor and his Trian fund want to align pay with performance for key executives, restore Disney’s box office dominance and expand the company’s profit margin. He also wants to ensure CEO Bob Iger, famous for staying on for longer than expected, really steps down in 2026 at the end of his contract.

But the plan doesn’t differ much from what Iger and team are already doing, and exactly how Peltz and Rasulo would fix things isn’t clear, analysts say.

“I don’t think [Peltz has] offered a turnaround plan that would be something that would get people saying, yeah, we need to get Peltz in there and change things,” Barton Crockett, senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, told CNN.

What’s the fight about?

In recent years, Disney has  struggled mightily  with a surprising number of box office flops, declining viewership on its linear television networks, including ESPN and ABC, along with massive losses as it builds its streaming business to compete with the likes of Netflix.

Peltz says he is looking for a turnaround.

“[D]espite its many advantages, Disney has lost its way. Disney fell from its #1 position at the box office, was late to enter the streaming business and doubled down on linear TV at the wrong time,” Trian  wrote in a letter  to Disney shareholders this month.

What will happen on Wednesday?

At 1 pm ET, Disney will hold its annual shareholder meeting, during which shareholders will submit their votes for “slates” of board member positions, including those from Trian and Blackwells. The results of the vote, which is already underway, will then be revealed.

If Peltz is successful, he and Rasulo could gain up to two seats on the board, displacing Disney’s picks. The pair could then influence the company’s direction ,  and ,  some analysts believe, could hasten an early departure for Iger, who returned to the leadership role in 2022 after his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek, was ousted.

Peltz — who has no entertainment experience but has successfully waged such proxy battles in the past — has said in interviews he wants to work with the current leadership to shake up the media giant.

“We want to make sure this company finally performs. It’s been mistreated for a very long time and that needs to change,” Peltz said in a video on  Trian’s website  for the proxy battle.

How is Disney fighting back?

Typically, shareholder meetings and these votes are staid affairs that barely garner significant attention from the public.

But Disney is taking the threat seriously. More than $60 million has been poured into the boardroom fight, most of it from Disney, which is fighting to keep Iger and its board firmly in place.

Disney and its supporters say that turnaround is already happening under Iger and that the Trian proxy battle is due in part to a personal grudge after Perlmutter was ousted from the company last year.

But it has a unique challenge persuading shareholders: Unlike other publicly traded companies, many of its investors are so-called “retail investors” — everyday individuals who invest in companies.

More than 35% of Disney’s shares are held by these individuals, who could seriously sway the vote. So Disney has been treating the campaign like a political one, launching a  campaign website , taking out Google search ads ,  and advertising on popular podcasts like “Smartless.” It’s even leaning on some of its best-known animated characters.

“They’ve really pulled out all the stops in responding to Nelson Peltz and the other activists ,  and dismissing and attacking them on multiple levels ,  even going to the place of pulling out Disney intellectual property and calling Peltz a ‘Pinocchio,’” Crockett said.

“Frozen” characters Anna and Elsa have also appeared on materials mailed to shareholders,  while the relatively unknown character Ludwig Von Drake  hosted an animated short video explaining how shareholders can vote.

“Disney has the right strategy to drive profitable growth and value creation for shareholders and has made substantial progress against our objectives to make our business more efficient and effective, including a sharpened focus on our greatest brand and franchise assets, a continued commitment to cutting costs and a reinstatement of the dividend,” the company said in a statement last week advocating for its slate of board members.

In addition, Iger and other senior Disney executives have been traveling across the country and personally meeting with the larger and institutional shareholders, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

Disney has also lined up some big names in support of its board, including filmmaker George Lucas, JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Even some members of the Disney family who have been critical of the company, like Abigail E. Disney, have spoken out against Peltz’s boardroom battle.

“Clearly, Bob Iger and the board have taken this very seriously and put out an amazing amount of material and they’ve met with investors,” Jessica Reif Ehrlich, managing director of BofA Securities, told CNN. “Nelson Peltz has gone public, so it’s very contentious, very loud, very public.”

Meanwhile, Peltz has received support in recent days from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the private investment firm Neuberger Berman, dealing a blow to Disney’s efforts to stave off the board fight. The influential advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Service and Egan-Jones have also thrown their support behind Peltz for at least one seat on the board.

But while Disney isn’t leaving anything to chance, some analysts suggested that if Peltz does win a seat or two at the table, it could open the door to Iger departing the House of Mouse sooner than his planned 2026 succession.

“It’s clear that Iger doesn’t want to deal with him,” Crocket said of Peltz. “So, I guess the one thing that I would wonder about, not from an operational perspective, but from a leadership perspective, is that if Peltz wins, it might hasten the departure of Iger.”

- CNN’s Liam Reilly and Krystal Hur contributed to this report.

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The April Solar Eclipse Means Business

In this photo illustration, eclipse glasses from Warby Parker are seen on a table in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

In this photo illustration, eclipse glasses from Warby Parker are seen on a table in New York City.

If you're just now planning travel for next week's total solar eclipse, you may be a little behind.

Hotels are booked up and campgrounds are sold out in and around towns in the eclipse's path of totality. Nearly 4 million people are expected to make the trip to the viewing zone which stretches from Maine to Texas.

Emergency preparations are underway in anticipation of the surge in travel. But planning for the worst has been accompanied by a spending boom in affected areas. Local businesses are taking advantage of the extra foot traffic, from hosting watch parties to rolling out solar eclipse-themed menus. According to an estimate from The Perryman Group, Texas alone could rake in $428 million in eclipse-related spending.

How are cities and local businesses preparing for the spending boom? And what should you do to prepare if you plan on traveling to see the solar event? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a .

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• Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel rose to prominence after a 1996 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
• They later had a short-lived TLC reality show chronicling their lives as recent college graduates.
• The Hensels left the spotlight behind, but news that Abby got married has renewed attention.

Abby and Brittany Hensel, Minnesota-born conjoined twins who share a single body with separate heads and necks, first rose to fame as children in the 1990s.

Now, the two are back in the spotlight after news broke that Abby got married.

Here's what to know about the twins and their lives now.

Abby and Brittany Hensel became famous after appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 1996

The Hensel twins were five years old when they appeared as guests on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April 1996. During the interview, the girls discussed their favorite Disney movie and explained how they work together to move their shared body.

The two also appeared on the cover of Life magazine the same month for a feature titled "One Body, Two Souls."

According to an interview with Time Magazine , their parents, Mike and Patty Hensel, were initially told by doctors they were expecting just one child. It wasn't until Abby and Brittany were born, via C-section, that they realized there were two babies — rare dicephalic parapagus twins, sharing a bloodstream and all of their organs below their waist.

After their story was publicized in Life magazine and on Winfrey's show, the Hensel twins' lives were chronicled in a series of follow-up TV specials, including "Joined for Life," a 2002 documentary that aired on the Discovery channel, and "Joined at Birth" the following year.

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"Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16," an update released in 2006, followed the twins as they worked on getting their driver's licenses and attended high school.

They briefly starred in their own TLC reality show

After high school, the twins attended Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to the Huffington Post .

Following the success of their numerous TV specials, TLC ordered a series following the then 22-year-old twins after they'd finished college. "Abby and Brittany" premiered on the network in August 2012.

"Abby and Brittany" aired for an eight-episode season, ending in October 2012. It depicted their job searches, post-graduation travels in Europe, and part-time teaching. During the series, they also moved into their own house.

Abby reportedly got married in 2021

On Wednesday, Today.com broke the news that Abby, now 34, had gotten married to a man named Joshua Bowling in 2021.

According to the publication, Bowling is a nurse and veteran of the US Army. The sisters, who are both working as fifth-grade teachers, reportedly still live in Minnesota, where they were born and raised. Bowling's Facebook page, which has since been made private but was previously viewed by Business Insider, shows pictures of their wedding and the family traveling.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to Bowling's mother has also shared wedding photos and a video of her son with the Hensels and reference their marriage, tagging the twins' Facebook page . Bowling's mom has also shared photos of the family boating.

According to the New York Post , Abby became a stepmom through the marriage to Bowling's daughter from a past relationship.

TikTok and Facebook accounts that appear to belong to the Hensel twins didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Abby's reported marriage.

Abby and Brittany appeared to address speculation around the marriage on TikTok

News of the marriage gained attention online following the media coverage, which appeared to prompt the pair to respond with TikTok videos on Friday, according to outlets like People and The New York Post .

"The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around," the first video's caption read.

The video featured statues of conjoined twins alongside hashtags like "happy" and "marriage."

A second video appeared to show several pictures of the pair and Bowling together, including at their wedding. The third video featured a photo of Abby, Brittany, and Bowling embracing.

"This is for all you haters out there. If you don't like what I do but watch everything I'm doing, you're still a fan," a voiceover said.

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Brexit import charges may mean rise in food prices, say trade groups

Fees of up to £145 on EU animal and plant products through Dover and Folkestone begin on 30 April

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Trade groups have warned that consumers could see a rise in food prices after the UK government announced the introduction of post-Brexit charges on imports of EU food and plant products later this month.

The government has published details of fees – known as the common user charge – which will apply to small imports of animal products and plants, such as sausages, cheese and yoghurt, entering the UK from the EU through the port of Dover and through Eurotunnel at Folkestone.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the fees of up to £145, which come into force on 30 April, will pay for border inspections and improve biosecurity by preventing the import of plant and animal diseases into the UK. The charges apply to imports entering the UK and transits entering and leaving.

Trade groups criticised the charges and said the move would increase business costs and food prices and lead to potentially fewer choices for shoppers.

William Bain, the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, called the move “extremely disappointing” and said the government had failed to listen to industry concerns.

“The level of import charges shows scant regard to the interests of both businesses and consumers,” he said. “A flat rate fee for bringing most animal and plant products into the UK is a hammer blow for small and medium-sized importers. It’s also deeply concerning for retailers, cafes and restaurants.”

He said importing a small consignment of goods with only five different meat, poultry, egg, milk or some fish products in the medium-risk category meant firms would face a bill of £145 a package under these proposals.

Phil Pluck, the chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents importers of perishable goods, said the charges had been introduced “at the last minute”, which he said gave companies very little time to alter their commercial arrangements with EU customers.

“This is in no way helpful to UK-based importers and the whole EU supply chain. It reinforces the government’s slapdash approach to a vital part of UK plc,” he said.

“Our main concern is that this is now certain to negatively affect food prices. The confirmation that common user charges will apply from 30 April means that UK importers of medium and high-risk goods will have to pass this cost on to either the EU importer, the smaller UK retailer, or the UK consumer.

“Ultimately, this will increase business costs and food prices and potentially lower choices for the shopper.”

James Barnes, the chair of the Horticultural Trades Association for the UK garden industry, said the announcement had come at the “11th hour ” and he feared the competitiveness of UK horticulture “will be again hit by a cost hike for no material gain”.

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Barnes said 90% of the growers it represented imported plants at some stage of the growing cycle and almost all were small businesses, many of whom would be expected to pay the £145 maximum charge.

“This will be a huge new cost burden for many, hitting SMEs hard,” he said, adding the policy “feels like it is constructed on the back of an envelope at best”.

Barnes added: “The charges will undoubtedly increase costs, potentially reduce consumer choice, and increase the likelihood of empty shelves, thereby impacting biodiversity and meeting our nation’s environmental targets.”

The UK government has delayed the introduction of the charges five times since the UK left the EU, partly to give businesses time to prepare and to reduce disruption to supply chains.

The UK government said: “The charge is designed to recover the costs of operating our world-class border facilities where essential biosecurity checks will protect our food supply, farmers and environment against costly disease outbreaks entering the UK through the short straits.

“The charges follow extensive consultation with industry and a cap has been set specifically to help smaller businesses. We are committed to supporting businesses of all sizes and across all sectors as they adapt to new border checks and maintaining the smooth flow of imported goods.”

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