Example of Partner Collaboration

The following is an example that describes how a partner can work on opportunities in collaboration with other partner companies. This example consists of the following tasks:

• Locating Other Partners and Sending Collaboration Requests (Initiating Partner)

• Accepting the Collaboration Request (Invitee Partner)

• Creating a Collaboration (Initiating Partner)

• Adding Resources to the Collaboration (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

• Sharing Opportunities (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

• Monitoring Their Collaborations (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

• Monitoring All Collaborations (Brand Owner)

Locating Other Partners and Sending Collaboration Requests (Initiating Partner)

As the first step, the partner who is the initiator of the collaboration uses the Partner Locator and enters criteria to find other partners to collaborate on this project. For example, it might look for other partners in a specific location with a specific expertise.

After the initiator has located other partners, it clicks Request Collaboration to send them a message asking them to collaborate. Because the initiator does not necessarily know individuals in the partner company they are inviting to collaborate, the message is sent to the organizations of the invitee.

To locate partners and send collaboration requests 

1. The initiating partner navigates to the Partner Locator screen.

2. In the Partner Locator, the partner enters criteria to identify other partner companies for this collaboration and clicks Search.

   The Partner Locations list appears, listing all partners that match the criteria.

3. In the leftmost column of the Partner Locations list, the initiating partner selects the check box for all the partner organizations in the list to be invited to collaborate.

   The initiating partner checks the Available for Collaboration column of the Partner Locator to see whether a partner organization can be involved in a collaboration.

4. The partner clicks Request Collaboration.

   The Outbound Request form appears.

5. The partner fills out the Outbound Request form with the information in the following table, and clicks Send Request.

   Field	Description
   Initiating Organization	Displays the organization that is initiating the collaboration.
   Recipient Organizations	Displays the partner companies being invited to participate in the collaboration. This list includes the partner companies that were chosen in the Partner Locator. The partner can also click the Multiple Select button and use the Collaboration Organizations dialog box to add or remove partners from the recipient list for the request.
   Description	Enter a description of the collaboration that gives other partners enough information to decide whether they want to join the collaboration.
   Type	Select the type of collaboration. Types include Opportunity and Project.
   Request Date	Enter the date of the request. The default is the date created.
   Expiration Date	Enter the date the request becomes inactive. If the recipients do not respond by this date the request is removed from the recipients' inbox.
   Name	Enter a name for the collaboration request.
   Created By	Displays the login of the creator of the request.
   Created Date	Displays the date the request was created.
   Available to Recipients	When you click Send, the Available to Recipients check box is automatically checked to indicate that the message has been sent. If you click Save without selecting Available to Recipients, then the message is not available to the recipient partners.

   
   

Accepting the Collaboration Request (Invitee Partner)

The collaboration request is in the Inbound Request list of each invitee partner. The partner can accept or reject the request by changing the value in its Status field. The default status of a new request is Pending. The partner changes this value to Accepted or Rejected.

The initiating partner checks the Status field of the request in the Outbound Requests view to see if the request was rejected or accepted.

To accept or reject a collaboration request 

1. The invitee partner navigates to the Partner Collaboration screen, then the Inbound Collaboration Requests view.

2. In the Inbound Request list, the partner drills down on the name of a new request.

3. In the Request Status form, in the Status field, the partner chooses Accepted or Rejected.

Creating a Collaboration (Initiating Partner)

After invitee partners accept the collaboration, the initiating partner creates the collaboration. When the initiating partner clicks the Create button, the collaboration is created and all the invitees who have accepted the collaboration are copied as participants of the collaboration.

To create a collaboration 

1. The initiating partner navigates to the Partner Collaboration screen, then the Outbound Collaboration Requests view.

2. In the Outbound Request list, the partner selects the request that has been accepted.

3. The partner clicks Create Collaboration.

   A Collaboration record is created based on the request, and all the invitee partners who accepted the request are copied as participants of the collaboration.

4. The partner fills out the other fields in the Collaboration form.

Adding Resources to the Collaboration (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

When an invitee partner has accepted the collaboration request, a collaboration record is created. The next step is for both the initiating partner and the invitee partner to add resources to the collaboration.

Resources can be the positions of employees in the partner's company or organizations in the partner's company. Each partner in the collaboration adds positions and organizations in its own company.

To add resources to the collaboration 

1. Both the initiating and the invitee partners navigate to the Partner Collaboration screen.

2. In the Collaborations list, the partner selects a collaboration.

3. The partner clicks the Resources view tab.

4. In the Resources list, the partner clicks New and selects resources, displaying the information in the following table in the fields of the new record.

   Field	Description
   Primary	Select a resource from this list.
   Resource Name	The name of the resource, entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   User ID	If the resource is a position, the employee's login ID is entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   Organization	If the resource is an organization, the organization is entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   Type	The type of the resource, position, or organization, entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   Description	The description of the resource, entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   Start Date	The date when the resource becomes available, entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.
   End Date	The date when the resource is no longer available, if one exists, entered automatically when you select the resource using the Primary list.

   
   

Sharing Opportunities (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

After the collaboration is set up, the partner companies that are collaborating can share opportunities, service requests, quotes, orders, campaigns, accounts, contacts, projects, and other information.

For example, when a partner company in the collaboration works on an opportunity, it can share the opportunity and associated information with the other partner company, assigning the opportunity to any employee or organization in the other partner company that is a resource in the collaboration.

To share an opportunity with another partner company 

1. The partner navigates to the Opportunities screen.

2. The partner creates a new opportunity or selects an existing opportunity.

3. The partner clicks Collaborate.

   The Grant Access to Collaboration Resources dialog box appears, listing all positions and organizations in other partner companies with which this partner employee has a relationship.

4. In the dialog box, the partner selects Resources and clicks OK.

   Partner positions that were selected are added to the sales team for the opportunity and can see it in the My Opportunities view. Partner organizations that were selected are added to the organization team for the opportunity and can see it in the All Opportunities view.

Monitoring Their Collaborations (Initiating and Invitee Partner)

At any time, a partner company can get an overview of all its collaborations.

To monitor its collaborations 

1. The partner navigates to the User Profile screen, then the Company Profile view.

2. The partner clicks the Collaborations view tab.

   A list of all the partner company's collaborations appears.

3. In the Collaboration list, the partner selects a collaboration.

   All of the resources for this collaboration are displayed in the Resources list, which is below the Collaboration list.

Monitoring All Collaborations (Brand Owner)

Throughout the process, the brand owner can view all collaborations that partners have created, to monitor partner collaborations.

The brand owner can also view the opportunities, service requests, and other information being shared in the collaboration by using the appropriate view, such as the All Opportunities Across Organizations view.

To monitor all partner collaborations 

1. Navigate to the Partners screen, then the Partner List view.

2. Drill down on the name of a partner company whose collaborations you want to see.

3. Click the Collaborations view tab.

   A list of all the partner company's collaborations appears.

4. In the Collaboration list, select a collaboration.

   All of the resources for this collaboration are displayed in the Resources list, which is below the Collaboration list.