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Search for partners

Search for partners Agency Consulting firm Experts Specialists Consultancy

Identify the most appropriate partners for your projects

For more than 30 years, our specialized team has been supporting companies in their search for partners (suppliers, subcontractors, technology partners, market access partners, etc.) from the identification and evaluation of potential partners to the negotiation of partnership terms and the management of the partnership relationship.

    Tell us about your uncharted territory

    You have a project and want to discuss it with our explorers, write us!

    One of our explorers will contact you shortly.


    They trust us

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    Key success factors in the search for partners

    Amidst the ever-evolving business landscape, particularly as new technologies disrupt industries and innovation accelerates, companies recognize the imperative of seeking partnerships. Upholding the following success factors is paramount in navigating the complex process of partners’ scouting:

    Before seeking partnerships, it is essential to define the company goals and needs : what we want to achieve (eg if it is a new product, what are the target specifications?), how it translates in terms of capabilities, and what are the gaps in company’s existing capabilities, that should be bridged by a partner. Then comes the definition of the criteria used to assess the potential partners, that should be a mix of qualitative and quantitative ones.

    This very first step of partner scouting requires a strong alignment among internal stakeholders from different departments, and it needs time! But clarity here will aid in narrowing the search, preventing wasted time and frustration, and effectively communicating your the value proposition to potential partners who share similar objectives.

    Who are the stakeholders that I should ensure Ito involve in the process? What are the crucial goals to achieve through this partnership? What are the criteria to assess the potential partners ?

    Depending on the defined scope, an initial search for partners can bring up hundreds of companies! A solid evaluation/selection method must therefore be deployed. Even in more limited cases, the method followed allows to remain objective and avoid the biases intrinsic to each person in the search and evaluation of partners.

    Many tools can be used to guarantee the robustness of the method, such as scoring tables and decisional matrices, and effectively guide the decision-making process.

    And on top of these, good project management practices will definitely help.

    How to sequence a partner research? How to deal with a big set of assessment criteria? How to visualize the results? What time and resources will be needed for the process?

    Partnerships aim to unify entities towards a shared mission, forming the basis for collaborative relationship. Compatibility of the two teams, a point often overlooked, holds significant importance. Shared values, open communication, and work ethics foster seamless collaboration.

    Following this, even in the selection phase, the motivation of the partner and the reverse “feeling” of the company are very valid criteria.

    Where are we matching or mismatching in our work culture VS our partners?  How to communicate organization’s culture to potential partners ?

    How we support you in your search for partners

    Industrial partners or subcontractors, research organizations, universities, associations, SMEs or startups, our support facilitates the identification of the most relevant actors in relation to the problems of our customers. We develop simple visual tools for mapping, characterization and evaluation of potential partners, in order to guide the selection.

    Alcimed also assists its clients in the mobilization of their target partners as well as in the organization of their collaborative project through innovative co-building working sessions (workshops, world café, etc.) and the regular monitoring of each one’s work.

    What they say

    • TCV_biomerieux_miniature_site_EN_min
      Logo_carre_BioMerieux_1000

      Renaud JONQUIERES

      Sr Vice President R&D Portfolio and Open Innovation

    • TCV_biomerieux_miniature_site_EN
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      Bertrand Mérot

      CEO

    Examples of recent search for partners carried out for our clients

    • Search for partners in e-health

      We assisted one of our clients, a leading industrial player in healthcare, in the evaluation of a strategic opportunity in the e-health speech disorders market.

      To do so, our team conducted a literature review and interviews to identify the players, understand and evaluate the teletherapy market for speech and language disorders.

      We interviewed potential partners to understand their solutions, their current business models and to consider a partnership with our client.For this research, our team developed an interactive Excel tool that allows to describe and to visualize in an interactive way the potential partnership model between our client and each of the studied companies.

      In the end for this search for partners, our client was able to short-list partners, meet with them and conclude an agreement with one of them.

    • Identification of partners offering technologies to produce water from air

      For a player in the energy sector, Alcimed carried out a mapping of technologies and associated suppliers enabling the transformation of air into water.

      Our team set up a three-step process: a first work to identify the main market data and trends, followed by a screening of the identified technologies based on their level of maturity and on key performance criteria for our client – leading to a listing of the companies active on the most promising technologies, and finally an analysis of the companies based on more economic criteria this time for a relevant search for partners.

      Thanks to this state of the art, our client was able to mobilize a network of key players for the development of its project.

    • Search for co-manufacturers in the agri-food sector

      We helped one of our clients, a food service solution’s provider, to identify co-manufacturers of plant-based products in the EMENA region to develop new partnerships.

      To do this, our team implemented a 2-step approach, starting with a mapping of the different manufacturers in the market, to identify the possible partnering opportunities for our client. Then, after an intermediate stage of pre-selecting the most promising partners based on criteria defined with our client, we evaluated and characterized the pre-selected partners in order to arrive at a shortlist of preferred partners.

      Our work enabled our client to define a list of trusted key players to continue their plant-based product manufacturing initiatives and to enter into initial discussions with these players.v

    • Search for partners and assistance in the preparation of a financing application for the “Eurostar” support programme

      Our “Innovation and Public Policy” team has assisted several project leaders in the preparation of a “Eurostars” funding application and the search for French and European industrial partners.

      Alcimed carried out a diagnosis of the current state of the project and then assisted the project leaders in identifying and setting up partnerships (identification of relevant partners, establishing contacts and developing the consortium).

      Following this, we wrote the financial file, in collaboration with the project leaders on the non-scientific parts, and proceeded to a global critical review, until the final file was sent.

    • Search for partnerships with influential medical societies in APAC regions for a pharmaceutical company looking for potential partnerships

      Our team assisted a leading pharmaceutical company in was seeking external partnerships with influential medical societies in the APAC region.

      To do so, we first identified and mapped relevant societies in the scoped region. Potential partners were then co-selected for deeper interviews to understand their current capabilities and ambitions. Then we used a detailed scoring method to end up with the top 3 priority partners to engage with.

      The outcomes of the project were clear targets and first actions for the client’s partnership roadmap in the region and an interactive visualisation tool for quick data reference.

    • Searching for partners in R&D and identifying their core expertise for a leading agri-food company

      Our team supported a global leading agri-food company in was trying to identifying key R&D players and mapping map out their core expertise in the targeted regions.

      To help our client, we first identified technologies of interest and mapped out relevant R&D players. We then conducted thorough analysis to understand and evaluate their expertise in these innovation areas, their existing collaborations and openness to new ones.

      Our work helped our client to identify the key relevant R&D players in the identified territories, and potential future partnership alliances.

    You have a project?

      Tell us about your uncharted territory

      You have a project and want to discuss it with our explorers, write us!

      One of our explorers will contact you shortly.


      To go further

      Founded in 1993, Alcimed is an innovation and new business consulting firm, specializing in innovation driven sectors: life sciences (healthcare, biotech, agrifood), energy, environment, mobility, chemicals, materials, cosmetics, aeronautics, space and defence.

      Our purpose? Helping both private and public decision-makers explore and develop their uncharted territories: new technologies, new offers, new geographies, possible futures, and new ways to innovate.

      Located across eight offices around the world (France, Europe, Singapore and the United States), our team is made up of 220 highly-qualified, multicultural and passionate explorers, with a blended science/technology and business culture.

      Our dream? To build a team of 1,000 explorers, to design tomorrow’s world hand in hand with our clients.

      The search for partners is the process of finding and identifying potential partners in order to build a new collaboration. Whether it’s looking for a supplier, a subcontractor, a technology partner, a market access partner (distributors, sales force, …), … a search for partners involves identifying potential partners, assessing their suitability according to the established selection criteria, choosing the most relevant partners, negotiating the terms of the partnership and managing the relationship.

      One of the most critical steps in searching for partners is the first one: need definition and scoping. Then comes the partner scouting itself, that can be sub-divided into initial screening, assessment and prioritization, and finally in-depth characterization and selection. The whole process ends with the step of engagement and concretization of the new partnership.