The key account management system in the paper industry business environment

Subject area This case illustrates the differences between customers and the occasions when conditions change and buyer-seller relationships fail. The key issue is to find ways to anticipate this problem with other clients. Study level/applicability It may be used in second-year courses of MBA marketing programs as well as in specific executive education programs dealing with key account management (KAM) systems, business strategy, industrial marketing and/or sales management courses. This case can also be used at undergraduate programs and courses dealing with sales, sales management, international business, and organizational behavior. Case overview In 2003, after Carlos Etcheverry joined San Antonio (SA) as Latin American Region Vice President, the company implanted a KAM System. SA's relationships with its two key clients, Vintage and Chevron, seemed to progress nicely until mid 2004, when Chevron's newly hired Purchasing Manager decided to change the company's commercial structure, rendering its purchasing process more bureaucratic and extremely competitive. In March 2005, Etcheverry was to meet Chevron's purchasing manager, since Chevron had decided to reassign a service contract through a new invitation to bid, leaving San Antonio out. The case puts forth the questions faced by Etcheverry at the time of the meeting: How had San Antonio come to jeopardize a key account? Would SA's organization need a change? Was this the only solution available? What other factors should be considered? Expected learning outcomes This case may help students to: understand the complexity of key account management (KAM) system implementation, sales force concepts and business-to-business relationships; and analyze the difficulties faced by companies upon implementing a change in their sales strategies and the effects of this change on the sales force, corporate culture and the organization as a whole management system. Supplementary materials Teaching notes and a Technical note are available; also access to audio visual support with an interview to Carlos Etcheverry.

Download Full-text

How can I implement a key account management system?

Exporting Automotive Components ◽

10.18356/6840a5c1-en ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 46-47

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Management System ◽

Key Account Management ◽

Account Management ◽

Key Account

Download Full-text

Spitzenleistungen im Key Account Management

10.15358/9783800646432 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Christian Belz ◽

Markus Müllner ◽

Dirk Zupancic

Keyword(s):

Key Account Management ◽

Account Management ◽

Key Account

Download Full-text

Mind the gap: A process model for diagnosing barriers to key account management implementation

Industrial Marketing Management ◽

10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.07.008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 70 ◽

pp. 58-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Alexander Leischnig ◽

Björn S. Ivens ◽

Barbara Niersbach ◽

Catherine Pardo

Keyword(s):

Process Model ◽

Key Account Management ◽

Account Management ◽

Key Account

Download Full-text

The reflexive turn in key account management

European Journal of Marketing ◽

10.1108/ejm-10-2010-0561 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 48 (11/12) ◽

pp. 2071-2104 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Markus Vanharanta ◽

Alan J.P. Gilchrist ◽

Andrew D. Pressey ◽

Peter Lenney

Keyword(s):

Empirical Studies ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Success Rates ◽

Key Account Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Account Management ◽

Long Run ◽

Key Account ◽

And Performance ◽

The Uk

Purpose – This study aims to address how and why do formal key account management (KAM) programmes hinder effective KAM management, and how can the problems of formalization in KAM be overcome. Recent empirical studies have reported an unexpected negative relationship between KAM formalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – An 18-month (340 days) ethnographic investigation was undertaken in the UK-based subsidiary of a major US sports goods manufacturer. This ethnographic evidence was triangulated with 113 in-depth interviews. Findings – This study identifies how and why managerial reflexivity allows a more effectively combining of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM practices. While formal KAM programmes provide a means to initiate, implement and control KAM, they have an unintended consequence of increasing organizational bureaucracy, which may in the long-run hinder the KAM effectiveness. Heightened reflexivity, including “wayfinding”, is identified as a means to overcome many of these challenges, allowing for reflexively combining formal with post-bureaucratic KAM practices. Research limitations/implications – The thesis of this paper starts a new line of reflexive KAM research, which draws theoretical influences from the post-bureaucratic turn in management studies. Practical implications – This study seeks to increase KAM implementation success rates and long-term effectiveness of KAM by conceptualizing the new possibilities offered by reflexive KAM. This study demonstrates how reflexive skills (conceptualized as “KAM wayfinding”) can be deployed during KAM implementation and for its continual improvement. Further, the study identifies how KAM programmes can be used to train organizational learning regarding KAM. Furthermore, this study identifies how and why post-bureaucratic KAM can offer additional benefits after an organization has learned key KAM capabilities. Originality/value – A new line of enquiry is identified: the reflexive-turn in KAM. This theoretical position allows us to identify existing weakness in the extant KAM literature, and to show a practical means to improve the effectiveness of KAM. This concerns, in particular, the importance of managerial reflexivity and KAM wayfinding as a means to balance the strengths and weaknesses of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM.

Download Full-text

Relational key account management: insights from the Middle Eastern context

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing ◽

10.1108/jbim-06-2019-0301 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Nada Saleh Badawi ◽

Moustafa Battor ◽

Saeed Badghish

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

Key Account Management ◽

Content Type ◽

The Third ◽

Account Management ◽

Key Account ◽

Multiple Case ◽

Key Accounts

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore relational aspects of key account management (KAM) in terms of social capital and relationship quality. The second objective was to identify the main dimensions that shape social capital and relationship quality within the KAM context. Finally, the third objective was to explore how relational KAM is practiced in the Middle Eastern context. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative methodology and a multiple case design. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a sample of senior executives from large Saudi firms. Findings The results highlight the importance of relationship quality and social capital to KAM implementation. A multiple case study was used to build a relational framework for KAM in the Middle Eastern context. Practical implications Three strategies were identified for use within the context of KAM in the Saudi market. The first strategy consisted of a means of attracting potential customers. The second strategy involved communication, aimed at maintaining frequent contact with key accounts. Finally, the third strategy was concentrated in maintenance to help sustain the relationship with key accounts. Originality/value This study extends understanding and the application of KAM to the Middle Eastern context, contributing to social capital, relationship quality and the KAM literature.

Download Full-text