Managing a partnership portfolio

Manage a partnership portfolio by deciding which customer problems each relationship addresses, what each partner contributes and where the team should focus. Review the relationships together: several useful partners may still compete for the same limited campaign capacity.

Keep a decision record

For each relationship, record the customer problem, intended audience, distinct contribution, owner, current activity, next decision date and any commitments that may limit your options. Separate confirmed facts from proposals; an old introduction or a successful past campaign is not a current plan.

Use a working state such as active, being tested, paused or due for a decision. The state describes current work, not the partner’s permanent value. A specialist contact may remain useful without a standing campaign.

Review coverage and overlap

Group relationships by the customer task they help with. This can reveal an unmet need, an unclear contribution or several partners seeking the same opportunity. A partner may serve more than one task, provided its role in each is clear.

These are review prompts, not a scoring formula. A partner serving a narrow but important task may warrant attention despite little recent activity.

Match attention to the next decision

Ask each owner to name the next customer-facing activity or decision, the work it needs and when it can be reviewed. Reserve substantial joint production for a distinct contribution that both teams can deliver. Keep lighter relationships available for a defined introduction, expert contribution or future test.

Check existing commitments before promising a category or campaign. In Australia, the ACCC investigates exclusive dealing arrangements that are potentially anti-competitive and enforces the law; it does not intervene directly in disputes between businesses.

Have the agreement owner assess a proposed restriction before the portfolio relies on it. The ACCC takes reports about possible anti-competitive communication and cooperation among businesses, and investigates possible anti-competitive contracts, arrangements, understandings and concerted practices.

It can take enforcement action; keep any exchange of commercially sensitive plans proportionate to the proposed activity and seek advice if cooperation depends on it.

Key Regulatory Considerations for Australian Partnerships

Check intellectual property before committing

Before allocating attention or capacity to a collaboration that involves intellectual property, check what each party is contributing and what may be created. IP Australia distinguishes background IP (created before or outside the collaboration), project IP (new IP created during it) and third-party IP (existing IP owned by someone not involved).

Confirm in the decision record who owns or controls each type, what permissions or licences are needed and who will manage any follow-up. Seek legal advice where ownership or use is unclear.

Review the evidence and public promise

Review after a campaign, a material offer change or ahead of a renewal decision. Ask whether agreed work was delivered, whether the intended customers showed a relevant need and whether there is a worthwhile next activity. Investigate a quiet period before treating it as a failure.

Use evidence at the level of the decision. A completed guide shows delivery; relevant enquiries may support another activity. Neither alone proves the partnership created additional demand. Record uncertainty and keep the next commitment proportionate to it.

When a partner’s offer or role changes, identify shared material that may give customers a wrong impression. Have the relevant owner check claims and conditions.

Confirm who can correct or withdraw affected assets and what rights each party has to keep using them. Finish each review with a recorded action: continue, test, change the role, pause or refer a renewal or exit decision to the authorised people.

The ACCC can require businesses to back up claims about their products or services. Keep the evidence for a shared claim available to the owner responsible for checking the material, particularly when a partner’s offer or role changes.

The ACCC accepts reports about possible misleading claims and uses them to inform education, compliance and enforcement work. It may investigate and take compliance or enforcement action, but it does not resolve individual disputes or provide legal advice.