Sales Alliance A ‘‘sales alliance’’ occurs when two companies agree to go to market together to sell complementary products and services. For example, i2 Technologies (i2), which sells eBusiness and Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) technologies, goes to market with a professional services provider like Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y) that will provide program management and systems integration services. This type of ‘‘sales alliance’’ usually revolves around targeted clients or targeted industries. Exclusivity is not a requirement around a sales alliance. For example, i2 has multiple sales alliances with professional services providers, while CGE&Y has multiple sales alliances with similar technology providers. Where the trust factor comes into play is the partnership agreements around specific clients or specific industries. The focus of a sales alliance is to create sales. Usually this revolves around joint selling activities with specific clients. As such, the ‘‘rules of the road’’ are usually client- and sales-process-related.