Att skapa starka och långsiktiga relationer till sina kunder har för företag blivit en nödvändighet i den industriella marknadsföringen, där relationerna i sig själva kan ses som den viktigaste tillgången för verksamheten. Från området inom relationsmarknadsföring har Key Account Management vuxit fram och blivit ett populärt begrepp, där en koncentrerad mängd av företagets kunder prioriteras högre än övriga. Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva och konkretisera det potentiella värde, sett som mellanskillnaden mellan fördelar och nackdelar, som skapas för det säljande tjänsteföretaget i användningen av KAM. Uppsatsen utgår från en kvalitativ ansats där en komparativ studie har genomförts genom att undersöka företag som uttalat använder Key Account Management mot företag som ej använder KAM, samt kundföretag. För att få tillgång till empririn har sex stycken intervjuer med företag genomförts. Två som har KAM, två som inte har KAM. Dessutom har intervjuer utförts med kund till ett KAM-företag, samt en kund till ett företag som inte använder KAM. Genom att ha en stödjande organisation, fyra centrala delar i sitt KAM, kompetenta Key Account Managers, samt aktiva kunder är mjuka värden såsom förbättrad relation och kundförståelse givet. Dessa kan i sin tur leda till andra mjuka och hårda värden och därför ökad lönsamhet. KAM är däremot en investering som tar mycket resurser, samtidigt som flertalet potentiella nackdelar är tänkbara. Värdet har i denna studie identifierats som skillnaden mellan tänkbara fördelar och nackdelar, men detta skiljer sig åt från företag till företag vilket gör att det faktiska värdet varierar. / To build strong and long-lasting customer relationships has become a necessity in industrial marketing, whereat the relationships in itself can be viewed as the most important asset for the company. Key Account Management has its roots in relationship marketing and has grown in popularity the past decades. By selecting and focusing primarily on a few key customers, which the company deems to be the most important, Key Account Management is purposed to generate and locate value. The purpose of this paper is to describe and substantiate the potential value, seen as the difference between advantages and disadvantages, that Key Account Management may provide for the selling company. The study has a qualitative approach consisting of six interviews. Two companies with Key Account Management, two companies without KAM and two customer companies were interviewed in a comparative design. One of the customers had a relationship to one of the companies with KAM, whilst the other one did not. By having a supporting organization, four critical aspects to the companies KAM, a qualified Key Account Manager, and active customers, soft values as improved relationships and customer understanding are guaranteed. These can in turn enable access to other soft and hard values that leads to higher profit. KAM is however an investment which occupies a lot of resources, alongside with creating potential disadvantages. The value has in this study been identified as the difference between potential advantages and disadvantages, but these differ from company to company which in turn makes the actual value from KAM various.

Nas últimas décadas, a maturidade de alguns mercados, a globalização e o crescente poder de barganha dos clientes aumentam ainda mais a necessidade das empresas em manterem e desenvolverem de forma eficaz seus clientes mais importantes. Neste contexto, ganham relevância os programas de Key Account Management (KAM), iniciativas corporativas que tratam de forma especial os clientes mais importantes do fornecedor. Para obter o desempenho financeiro superior, o programa de KAM precisa criar valor para o cliente para posterior apropriação de valor pelo fornecedor. Contudo, a maioria dos estudos enfatiza a apropriação de valor pelo fornecedor, porém poucas pesquisas investigam a criação de valor para o cliente em programas de KAM. Além disso, a maioria das pesquisas em marketing de relacionamento ainda foca muito nos impactos positivos do relacionamento. Dessa forma, é importante analisar empiricamente como é a implementação da criação de valor para o cliente em programas de KAM, identificando as principais dimensões e os fatores críticos. O objetivo do presente estudo é analisar o processo de criação de valor para o cliente em programas de Key Account Management (KAM) e propor um modelo de criação de valor para o cliente segundo a perspectiva da empresa fornecedora. As análises e o modelo são elaborados a partir de um processo de investigação abdutiva, ou seja, a combinação entre a fundamentação teórica sobre o conceito de valor e programas de KAM e a análise de conteúdo de 22 entrevistas em profundidade com especialistas em programas de KAM, profissionais de marketing/vendas que trabalham por pelo menos cinco anos com programas de KAM em grandes empresas no Brasil. O modelo proposto explica de forma integrada e sistemática como é a criação de valor para o cliente em programas de KAM segundo cinco dimensões (Desenvolvimento de relacionamentos; Entendimento dos direcionadores de valor; Desenvolvimento da proposta de valor; Comunicação da proposta de valor; e mensuração de valor), quatro moderadores (Orientação relacional do cliente; Formalização do programa de KAM para o cliente; Abordagem do fornecedor: \"orientada ao cliente\" vs. \"orientar o cliente\"; e Fit estratégico entre o fornecedor e o cliente) e três riscos (Não entrega do valor básico para o cliente; Rotatividade do Key Account Manager; e Sentimento de injustiça do cliente). Contribui-se com a teoria sobre o tema, ao incluir uma dimensão específica no modelo para desenvolvimento de relacionamentos do nível da díade (organização-organização) e indivíduo (funcionário-funcionário), e ao abordar não somente aspectos positivos do relacionamento, mas também os aspectos negativos (ou riscos da criação de valor para o cliente). Contribui-se também para a prática, ao prover uma visão mais ampla, sistemática e integradora dos diversos elementos da criação de valor para o cliente aos executivos das empresas que possuem programas de KAM, e ao recomendar práticas organizacionais que servem como guias para a tomada de decisão dos gestores de programas de KAM. Ademais, como a parte empírica do estudo é baseada no contexto brasileiro, amplia-se o conhecimento sobre KAM no Brasil. Por fim, apresentam-se as limitações do estudo com a agenda de pesquisas futuras / In recent decades, with the maturity of some markets, globalization and increasing power of the customers is becoming more important for the companies to maintain and develop effectively their most important customers. In this context, increases the relevance of Key Account Management (KAM) programs, a corporate initiative that performs special treatment to the most important supplier\'s customers. To obtain the superior financial performance, the KAM program improves the customer value creation for the value appropriation by the supplier. However, the majority of studies emphasize the value appropriation by the supplier, but few researches investigate the customer valuer creation on KAM programs. In addition, most of relationship marketing research still focuses much on the positive impacts of the relationship. Thus, it is important to empirically analyze how the implementation of customer value creation on KAM programs, identifying the main dimensions and the critical factors. The aim of this study is to analyze the customer value creation process on Key Account Management programs (KAM) and to propose a model of customer value creation from the supplier perspective. The analysis and the model are made through an abductive research process that combines the theoretical framework of the value concept and KAM programs, and content analysis of 22 in-depth interviews with experts on KAM programs, marketing or sales professionals who work for at least five years with KAM programs in large companies in Brazil. The proposed model explains in an integrated and systematic way the customer value creation on KAM programs according to five dimensions (Relationships development; Value drivers understanding; Value proposition development; Value proposition communication; and Value measurement), four moderators (Customer relational orientation; Formalization of the KAM program for the customer; Supplier approach: \"customer driven\" vs. \"customer driving\"; and strategic fit between the supplier and the customer) and three risks ( Not delivering the basic customer value; the Key Account Manager turnover; and Perceived injustice by the customer). The study contributes to the KAM theory through the inclusion of a specific dimension for the development of dyad relationships (organization-organization) and individual relationships (employee-employee) in the model, and through not only addressing the positive aspects of the relationship, but also the negatives (or customer value creation risks). It contributes also to the practice by providing a broader, systematic and integrating view of the several elements of customer value creation to executives of companies that have KAM programs, and recommending organizational practices that can be drivers for the decision making of KAM programs managers. Moreover, as the empirical part of the study is based in the Brazilian context, it broadens the knowledge of KAM in Brazil. Finally, we present study limitations with the future research agenda

One of the proxies for the success of a corporate strategy is firm performance. This is because “performance is a surrogate for the alignment between an organization’s internal processes (strategy, structure, etc) and the external environment.”1 Business excellence therefore hangs together with the attainment of such an alignment. It is two of the processes that support such an alignment between customer and supplier that are the subject of this paper. The processes in question are so called “Key Account Management” (KAM) and competitive intelligence (CI). [... aus der Einleitung] 1 Subramanian R., IsHak S., Competitor Analysis Practices of US Companies, 1998, S.13

Sales management control and sales force performance has received substantial attention by researchers in the past decades. Researchers have been investigating the construct of sales control, its antecedents and its consequences on both the individual sales person and on sales force performance. This research project analyses how and why the sales control systems are implemented the way they are. The basis for this approach is drawn from the organisational or management control literature which treats behaviour and outcome approaches as dimensions rather than categories. Organisational control also treats the control system as a process which consists of a set of stages or sub processes being objective setting, planning, monitoring, feedback and correcting. With the growing importance of relationship selling and key account management it can no longer be assumed that all the sales people will operate at the same hierarchical level within an organisation nor that they will be subject to one and the same control system. Therefore an in depth analysis of how sales force control processes are implemented for different types of sales functions, ranging from customer acquisition, small to medium account management to strategic and global account management, is needed. The research project included 17 preliminary interviews across different organisations, from which one organisation was selected on the basis that it contains a large international sales force of about 2.500 people consisting of a very wide range of sales functions. The analysis of this organisation included 100 plus interviews of 66 sales managers and sales people across all types of sales functions over a two year period. The findings show that the inability to measure certain inputs and outputs does not deter a sales organisation to adopt their sales control strategy within a functional sales team. When some measures are not available or are unreliable, sales managers find other ways to measure them being it through some locally developed tools or through more qualitative approaches. The method used to obtain certain measures does impact the level of the sophistication of the actual control process or strategy. When there is a need to control sales people who operate as a team of employees from different departments the sales managers can no longer individually develop some local tools to measure inputs and outputs. The findings show that team based selling requires accurate data but also globally agreed rules and procedures in order to operate successfully. This enables us to conclude that the inability to measure certain inputs and outputs is a determining variable for the implementation of client sales teams. With regard to sales force control strategies the research uncovered that within the category of the hybrid sales control approach there are four types of sales control sub approaches. The choice of which control to use is dependent on the size of the customers or opportunities the sales people work with and the selling approach which is either hunting or farming. This shows that while farming can be relabelled as key account management, hunting remains a major sales activity requiring not only different selling approaches it also requires different types of sales control processes than for farming. All of these findings indicate that several types of sales control systems can operate across one single organisation and that the main determining variables are the sales approach and the type of accounts the sales person is managing. This challenges current beliefs or assumptions that all sales people operate at the same hierarchical level within an organisation and that they all operate under one single sales control approach. Future research on sales force control will need to take these findings into account when designing their approach to study control systems within organisations.

Title: Management of Key Account Relationships in SMEs: A Resource-Based View Authors: David Gedda & Simon JohanssonLevel: Master thesis, 30 hpKeywords: Relationship Marketing, Key Account, Key Account Management,Customer Relationship Management, SME, High-performing firms Background: Management of firms most valuable customers, the key accounts,are of great importance for firms in general. This is in particulartrue for SMEs which battles with notably constrained resources.The situation of SMEs poses careful consideration in how tomanage these relationships successfully. Research Question: What characterizes high-performing SMEs in terms of how theymanage their key account relationships? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of what characterises high-performing SMEs in terms of how theymanage the relationships with their key accounts. Method: A qualitative study with an abductive approach using a multiplecasestudy design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews wereconducted to collect primary data on eight Swedish SMEs in theB2B-context. Theoretical Framework: Theories about the resource-based view and relational capabilitiesare presented followed by theories about relationship marketingand its subsets KAM and CRM. The last part of the theory consistsof theories on relationship quality. Findings: In general, high-performing SMEs tend to have a more structuredapproach towards their management of their key accountrelationships. This is mainly shown through four characteristics:Clear categorization of key accounts, Senior responsibility for keyaccounts, Deep integration with key accounts and Systematicprocess towards their key accounts.

Cultivating profitable, long-lasting customer-supplier partnerships is a significant task for today's companies. These relationships bring value-adding benefits, including cost and risk reductions, and bring joint business opportunities (Ravald & Grönroos, 1996; McDonald, et al. 1997). Key account management deals with developing customersupplier partnerships within the business-to-business context. Key account managers are responsible for delivering customised products/services, and defining possible business opportunities for both parties, after carefully selecting buying companies according to their strategic importance for the supplier. However, key account management may be complicated for suppliers to manage especially if the selling companies do not know how to implement a key account management programme appropriately. There have been a number of studies attempting to identify approaches to successful key account management programmes (Millman & Wilson, 1995, Napolitano, 1997, Homburg et al., 2002). Abratt & Kelly (2002) were the first to investigate both buyers' and sellers' perceptions of success factors of a key account management programme. They found that both buyers and sellers hold similar points of view on what a successful key account management programme should contain.This thesis is a replication of Abratt & Kelly (2002), which refined their scale to obtain better reliability assessments and generalisability. Only some of the findings of the original study could be replicated. Six factors were extracted while only three of them were reliable. Some of the items loaded onto the same dimension in the replication as Abratt & Kelly (2002), whereas others did not. The discussion section of the thesis suggests reasons for the difference in findings and suggests future research areas based on this discussion.

Capon在2001年的著作中提到，傳統業務制度即將面臨各項挑戰，而為了滿足可能面臨的各種內部與外部壓力，組織必須做出流程與制度上的變革。然而，在有限的資源下，企業必定無法滿足所有客戶的各種要求，因此，透過「關鍵顧客管理計畫」篩選出關鍵客戶，並且對不同的客戶施以差別資源的分配與服務，讓組織在有限資源的狀況下，能夠產生最佳的市場表現與組織績效，這一套方法便被視為能有效提昇企業服務品質與顧客滿意度的良藥。本研究藉由深度訪談，了解個案公司在經營關鍵顧客的三個面向（關鍵顧客管理流程、關鍵顧客管理制度、以及關鍵顧客所需價值的滿足程度），據此評估個案公司關鍵顧客管理計畫的完整程度，並且在最後對該公司提出幾項需改進的部分的與建議，分別是：關鍵顧客分級制度不明確、預算分配制度不明確、上下游資訊系統彼此沒有連線、信用額度管理審核過程不夠透明、風險管理的不足與文件規範化不足導致資訊的存取困難‧‧‧等六項建議 / As Capon mentioned in his publication at 2001, Traditional Business architecture is facing some new different challenges, which organization has to improve their system and procedure to deal with. Nevertheless, company will not be able to satisfy all the needs from customer under the limited resources. Therefore, filtering “Key Accounts” (a.k.a. KA) by Key Account Management (a.k.a. KAM) planning and serving KA with customized service level can help company improve their service quality and increase KA’s satisfaction efficiently. This research reveals P Company’s progress toward three dimensions (including procedure of KAM, system of KAM and customer satisfaction toward P Company’s KAM planning) by depth interview, to analyze P Company’s KAM completion, and point out the weakness of P Company’s KAM plan(including 1.Classification system of KAM is not clear 2. Budget allocation system is not clear 3.Information system of all supply chain are not connected and synchronized 4. Review mechanism of distributor' credit lines are not complete 5. Risk management system are not complete 6. Internal document are not formatted and stored properly) for P Company’s senior Manager as a reference to improve their KAM plan, also competitiveness in market and KA’s satisfaction.

<p>För det multinationella företaget är det rimligtvis en stor utmaning att kunna ta hänsyn till såväl den lokala som den globala dimensionen. Förevarande uppsats syftar till att kartlägga hur organisk processorientering fungerar som styrform i en global kundorienterad koncern. Med utgångspunkt i vald teori formuleras en tes med innebörden att denna styrform förväntas vara lämplig för en global verksamhet där stora krav på kundfokus, flexibilitet och anpassningsbarhet ställs. Samtidigt förväntas den försvåra integrationen av koncernens dotterbolag.</p><p>Studien genomfördes genom att undersöka hur skärverktygstillverkaren Sandvik Coromant organiserar sin globala verksamhet med dotterbolag i 130 länder. Intervjuer har genomförts med beslutsfattare vid huvudkontoret, på tre dotterbolag samt med en globalt kundansvarig. Utifrån en tematisering av intervjumaterialet dras följande slutsatser:</p><p>Organisk processorientering tycks vara en användbar styrform för den globala kundorienterade koncernen och kräver relativt autonoma dotterbolag. På grund av det integrationsproblem som tenderar att uppstå till följd av autonomin samt ett komplext inbördes beroende som inte är uppenbart för de lokala organisationerna, krävs emellertid att koncernen är organiskt processorienterad även i den laterala dimensionen.  I Sandvik Coromant koordineras verksamheten således genom ett horisontellt styrt, globalt Key Account Management-system samt väl etablerade nätverk mellan dotterbolagscheferna. Detta tycks resultera i att beroendet synliggörs och dotterbolagen motiveras att se till helheten. På så sätt kan integration underlättas utan att differentieringen samordnas bort och hänsyn tas till såväl den lokala som den globala dimensionen.</p>

För det multinationella företaget är det rimligtvis en stor utmaning att kunna ta hänsyn till såväl den lokala som den globala dimensionen. Förevarande uppsats syftar till att kartlägga hur organisk processorientering fungerar som styrform i en global kundorienterad koncern. Med utgångspunkt i vald teori formuleras en tes med innebörden att denna styrform förväntas vara lämplig för en global verksamhet där stora krav på kundfokus, flexibilitet och anpassningsbarhet ställs. Samtidigt förväntas den försvåra integrationen av koncernens dotterbolag. Studien genomfördes genom att undersöka hur skärverktygstillverkaren Sandvik Coromant organiserar sin globala verksamhet med dotterbolag i 130 länder. Intervjuer har genomförts med beslutsfattare vid huvudkontoret, på tre dotterbolag samt med en globalt kundansvarig. Utifrån en tematisering av intervjumaterialet dras följande slutsatser: Organisk processorientering tycks vara en användbar styrform för den globala kundorienterade koncernen och kräver relativt autonoma dotterbolag. På grund av det integrationsproblem som tenderar att uppstå till följd av autonomin samt ett komplext inbördes beroende som inte är uppenbart för de lokala organisationerna, krävs emellertid att koncernen är organiskt processorienterad även i den laterala dimensionen.  I Sandvik Coromant koordineras verksamheten således genom ett horisontellt styrt, globalt Key Account Management-system samt väl etablerade nätverk mellan dotterbolagscheferna. Detta tycks resultera i att beroendet synliggörs och dotterbolagen motiveras att se till helheten. På så sätt kan integration underlättas utan att differentieringen samordnas bort och hänsyn tas till såväl den lokala som den globala dimensionen.

In today¡¦s ever-changing, competitive business environment, professional managers are challenged with the aims of attracting target markets, establishing relationships, increasing competitiveness, and achieving objectives. The business must continually add value, create a long-term competitive advantage, and satisfy customer needs in order to maintain a position of leadership in the market. In opening Merck Sharp Dohme at a time when medical organizations are undergoing such global change, one must consider the relationship between the aim of the organization and the clients¡¦ needs. In 2007, the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ was established, a new marketing approach (New Strategic Selling) was adopted, and the competitiveness of the organization was enhanced, a new method of managing the client base was created, which assisted the company in reaching its global objectives. This research paper used explorative research methods adopting qualitative and quantitative means of analysis, as well as on the spot investigation into internal operations of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ of the Taiwanese branch of an American pharmaceutical factory. Through the implementation of KAM and CRM, research was conducted into the operation of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨. Discussions were carried out into my degree of satisfaction with the achievement of company objectives. Discussions also touched upon my satisfaction with current policies, the operation of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨, the results and cohesiveness of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨, staff qualities, on the job competence as well as limitations. Conclusions of the thesis are listed below: 1. Solving on-the-spot problems for the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ as well as providing a platform for long-term cooperation. 2. The importance of the operation and cohesiveness of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨, creating a plan for clients, and servicing clients. 3. Members dealing with the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ demonstrated experience, confidence, logic, and the ability to execute, delegate, and communicate effectively. 4. The ability to coordinate was the skill most valued by clients and staff. 5. Key reasons behind success of the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ was, choosing the right staff, systematic thought, professional management on the part of the client manager, coordination of resources, marketing activities, coordinating the duration of the client plan, as well as complete dedication to the task at hand. 5 key points developed from the conclusion: 1.The execution of MERCK¡¦s 5 Ring policy aims at building motivation for the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ 2.Finding the right person to carry out the right steps is the cornerstone of success behind the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨. 3.The driving force behind the success of managing the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ is the Client Manager. 4.Opportune spending and proper use of resources is the most impressive result when managing the ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨. 5.The key point to adding value to your ¡§Key Customer Unit¡¨ is separation of customer teams to increase internal competitiveness.