<p>Denna uppsats beskriver skillnader i förvärvskalkyler och hur olikheter i värdering därigenom uppkommer. Anledningen är att riskkapitalbolag verksamma inom private equity tycks vinna budstrider mot strategiska köpare, vilka har för avsikt att förvärva bolag för att skapa synergieffekter. Detta tycks ologiskt då riskkapitalbolagen snarare borde värdera förvärven lägre, till följd av att de inte kan inräkna synergieffekter. Studien utgår ifrån en jämförelse av ett riskkapitalbolag och en strategisk köpare, båda aktiva i Sverige. Vi undersöker deras värderingsmetodik och inställning till förvärvsfinansiering, samt påverkan av företagens verksamhetsinriktning. Riskkapitalbolaget har enligt våra resultat en flexibel kalkyl där de, i motsats till den strategiska köparen, värderar förvärvet enskilt samt vid värderingen koncentrerar sig på dess avkastning. Detta beror på att avkastningen uppnås när riskkapitalbolaget säljer vidare bolaget och att de som investerar i riskkapitalbolagets fonder praktiskt taget endast kan erhålla avkastning när en fond upplöses. Den strategiska köparen måste däremot ta hänsyn till fler faktorer, till följd av att förvärvet när det integreras i verksamheten påverkar koncernen. Dess investerare förväntar sig dessutom löpande effektiv avkastning. Riskkapitalbolagets flexibilitet beror huvudsakligen, enligt vår argumentation, på att de värderar förvärvet enskilt och inte avser integrera det i en koncern. Således pekar denna studie på att en möjlig förklaring till att riskkapitalbolag bjuder över strategiska köpare är att de ges större frihet av sina kapitalägare.</p> / <p>This thesis describes differences methods of calculating the value of an aquisition and how these lead to differences in valuation of the target. The background to the study is that private equity-groups have won bidding contests against strategic buyers, who can include synergies in the calculation. This seems illogical, as the private equity-group should value the aquisition lower due to lack of synergies. The main element of the study is a comparison of two swedish players; a private equity-fund and a strategic buyer. We focus the examination to the approaches to valuation, financing and to a certain extent, their operations. We have found that the private equity-fund, in contrast to the strategic buyer, has a more flexible calculation in which they isolate the aquisition and base the calculation upon a fixed rate of return. This approach is used because the private equity-group recieves their payoff when the company they aquire is sold on to another buyer, and because their investors only profits when the fund is dispersed. The strategic buyer, on the other hand, must consider how the aquisition affect the entire group and the fact that their investors require constant effective returns. We argue that the private equity-group can use the flexible approach because they don´t intend to integrate the aquisition. Thus, the study indicates that a possible explanation to why private equity-groups can outbid strategic buyers is because of their freedom in fund management.</p>

Denna uppsats beskriver skillnader i förvärvskalkyler och hur olikheter i värdering därigenom uppkommer. Anledningen är att riskkapitalbolag verksamma inom private equity tycks vinna budstrider mot strategiska köpare, vilka har för avsikt att förvärva bolag för att skapa synergieffekter. Detta tycks ologiskt då riskkapitalbolagen snarare borde värdera förvärven lägre, till följd av att de inte kan inräkna synergieffekter. Studien utgår ifrån en jämförelse av ett riskkapitalbolag och en strategisk köpare, båda aktiva i Sverige. Vi undersöker deras värderingsmetodik och inställning till förvärvsfinansiering, samt påverkan av företagens verksamhetsinriktning. Riskkapitalbolaget har enligt våra resultat en flexibel kalkyl där de, i motsats till den strategiska köparen, värderar förvärvet enskilt samt vid värderingen koncentrerar sig på dess avkastning. Detta beror på att avkastningen uppnås när riskkapitalbolaget säljer vidare bolaget och att de som investerar i riskkapitalbolagets fonder praktiskt taget endast kan erhålla avkastning när en fond upplöses. Den strategiska köparen måste däremot ta hänsyn till fler faktorer, till följd av att förvärvet när det integreras i verksamheten påverkar koncernen. Dess investerare förväntar sig dessutom löpande effektiv avkastning. Riskkapitalbolagets flexibilitet beror huvudsakligen, enligt vår argumentation, på att de värderar förvärvet enskilt och inte avser integrera det i en koncern. Således pekar denna studie på att en möjlig förklaring till att riskkapitalbolag bjuder över strategiska köpare är att de ges större frihet av sina kapitalägare. / This thesis describes differences methods of calculating the value of an aquisition and how these lead to differences in valuation of the target. The background to the study is that private equity-groups have won bidding contests against strategic buyers, who can include synergies in the calculation. This seems illogical, as the private equity-group should value the aquisition lower due to lack of synergies. The main element of the study is a comparison of two swedish players; a private equity-fund and a strategic buyer. We focus the examination to the approaches to valuation, financing and to a certain extent, their operations. We have found that the private equity-fund, in contrast to the strategic buyer, has a more flexible calculation in which they isolate the aquisition and base the calculation upon a fixed rate of return. This approach is used because the private equity-group recieves their payoff when the company they aquire is sold on to another buyer, and because their investors only profits when the fund is dispersed. The strategic buyer, on the other hand, must consider how the aquisition affect the entire group and the fact that their investors require constant effective returns. We argue that the private equity-group can use the flexible approach because they don´t intend to integrate the aquisition. Thus, the study indicates that a possible explanation to why private equity-groups can outbid strategic buyers is because of their freedom in fund management.

In 2005 the wine importer and supplier Pernod Ricard Sweden acquired Allied Domecq, a company with a wide assortment of wines. However, due to Pernod Ricard Sweden’s strategic focus on spirits the last decade they now experience a lack of knowledge of how to best sell and endorse wine to restaurants. After thorough research of present academic literature we have found that there is a theoretical gap of knowledge regarding the relationship between wine suppliers and restaurants and the interactions between them. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on organisational buying behaviour when purchasing in a B2B environment. We have investigated what criteria and services are more important for restaurants when purchasing wine, in order for the supplier to understand the behaviour of the buyer and act accordingly. A qualitative research has been conducted where 18 high commercial value restaurants in the region Mälardalen in Sweden were interviewed via telephone. The interview questions consisted of both open-ended questions and close-ended Likert scale questions, in order to receive both deeper answers including the respondents’ own opinions and comments, as well as preference data and attitude measures. In the analysis of our data we have discovered the importance of offering a concept and not just a product to the restaurants. In this concept the price in relation to quality is vital, as well as value adding activities such as education, which is important since there is a lack of documented knowledge among the persons responsible for the purchasing of wine. Support and sales meetings have proven to be efficient ways for the supplier to communicate their message to the restaurants rather than the use of traditional communication channels e.g. TV and printed advertisement. Furthermore, we have observed that the relationship between the supplier and the restaurants is crucial. This is due to the fact that most high commercial value restaurants only have one supplier and their emphasised need for the business to run smoothly. Therefore, previous experience of the supplier and the established degree of trust are highly influencing factors. We believe that if the results of our study are taken into consideration, the supplier has a great chance of becoming successful and creating profitable long-term relationships with high commercial value restaurants.

Companies operate in a changing world with rapid technological development. Automation of the purchasing process in companies by means of electronic solutions is in line with this development. Companies constantly demand new concepts and electronic solutions in or-der to make the purchasing process more efficient, known as E-procurement management. This concept has become widespread in the automotive industry owing to that a car is a system product that on average consists of 20 000 parts, and consequently many transac-tions when purchasing these products. However, to be able to automate the purchasing process the company has to explore and analyze what new technology solutions there are. With regard to this, the study will focus to analyze how a purchasing process in the auto-motive industry can be automated. The authors have chosen to look deeper into three dif-ferent electronic solutions. Thereto the study will examine what impact a certain type of product and supplier has concerning electronic solution. Additionally, how the buyer-supplier relationship is affected of automation is a fundamental question when considering automation, and will therefore be discussed in the study. These questions will concern to study both the buyer’s and the supplier’s perspective. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how a purchasing process can be automated in stra-tegic relationships in the automotive industry, thereto taking product and supplier type into consideration concerning electronic solutions. We will also study the possible effect on the buyer-supplier relationship of automation. A qualitative method has been employed, in or-der to get a more precise and deep knowledge of the subject. The authors have conducted interviews with respondents working at a large car manufacturing company in Sweden, and with three suppliers to this company. The study found that there are several areas in the purchasing process that still can be more efficient. Two technological drivers have been outlined as potential solutions: Covisint and web-EDI. Moreover, it is possible to conclude that an automation of a purchasing process will have an effect on the buyer-supplier relationship. The authors have drawn the conclusion that companies should not rush into things such as an automation. Much attention should be paid to the question what degree of an automation that can be allowed before it will have a negative effect on the relationship. Moreover, they should thoroughly study on what electronic solution is most suitable, thereto with consideration to what type of product and supplier one is dealing with. / Företag verkar i en omvärld med snabb teknisk utveckling. Ett led i denna utveckling är att automatisera inköpsprocessen med olika IT lösningar. Nya koncept och elektroniska lös-ningar efterfrågas konstant av företagen för att kunna uppnå mer effektivitet i inköpspro-cessen, känt som E-procurement management. Detta koncept har blivit allmänt utbrett i fordonsindustrin, vilket har sin orsak i att en bil är en system produkt med 20 000 be-ståndsdelar och där av många transaktioner vid inköp av dessa delar. För att kunna automa-tisera inköpsprocessen måste företaget undersöka och analysera vilka nya tekniska lösningar och vilka elektroniska hjälpmedel som finns. Med hänsyn till detta avser denna studie att fokusera på att analysera hur en inköpsprocess i fordonsindustrin kan automatiseras. För-fattarna har valt att titta närmare på tre olika elektroniska hjälpmedel. Därtill kommer stu-dien innehålla att analysera vilken inverkan en viss produkt och leverantörs typ har på val av elektroniska lösningar. En annan väsentlig fråga som också kommer att diksuteras är hur vid en automatisering av inköpsprocessen påverkar leverantörsrelationen. Dessa frågor kommer att innebära att studera både köparen´s och säljaren´s perspektiv. Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur en inköpsprocess i strategiska relationer i bil-industrin kan automatiseras, med hänsyn tagen till vilken typ av produkt och leverantör be-träffande val elektroniska hjälpmedel. Vi kommer också studera den eventuella påverkan på kund - leverantör förhållandet som en automatisering kan leda till. För studien har en kva-litativ metod använts, detta för att få en mer precis och djupare kunskap i hur kund- leve-rantör relationen påverkas vid en automatisering. Författarna har genomfört intervjuer hos ett stort biltillverknings företag i Sverige, och med tre av deras leverantörer. Studien visade på att där finns ett flertal områden i inköpsprocessen som kan effektivieras. Två drivare har konstaterats som möjliga lösningar : Covisint och web-EDI. Vidare är det möjligt att dra slutsatsen att en automatisering av inköpsprocessen påverkar leverantörsrelationen. Författarna har dragit slutsatsen att företag inte bör rusa in i en automatisering, istället måste uppmärksamheten riktas till frågan om i vilken grad av automatisering som kan tillåtas utan att det får en negativ inverkan på relationen. Vidare bör företaget grundligt studera vilken elektronisk lösning som är mest passande, därtill med hänsyn till vilken typ av produkt och leverantör det handlar om.

The discipline of marketing is evolving from a product centric paradigm where all value is invested in the product by the supplier and it is exchanged for a market determined price by means of an arm’s length transaction, to a service centric paradigm where value is co-created by customer and supplier through complex relationships in which the rewards are determined through negotiation. This study recognizes that in practice a supplier will and ought to continue to have some customer relationships that are transactional and others that involve higher levels of value co-creation. A five point continuum of relationships from transactional to strategic alliance is defined. Dyadic data in which customer and supplier are asked to evaluate the same relationship from their respective points of view are analyzed resulting in a portfolio of a supplier’s relationships that include each of the five levels. Three structured equation models are validated: first, the customer’s assessment of the level of relationship as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures; second, the supplier’s assessment as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures of investment; third, the differences between customer and supplier assessments as a function of differences in ratings of new, behaviorally anchored measures. Additionally, segmentation of the customer base is identified based on the level of assessment of the current and desired future level of relationship. Servicing processes are defined to enable the supplier to match the right offerings to each level of customer thereby optimizing their investment in their customer portfolio.

<p>Companies operate in a changing world with rapid technological development. Automation of the purchasing process in companies by means of electronic solutions is in line with this development. Companies constantly demand new concepts and electronic solutions in or-der to make the purchasing process more efficient, known as E-procurement management. This concept has become widespread in the automotive industry owing to that a car is a system product that on average consists of 20 000 parts, and consequently many transac-tions when purchasing these products. However, to be able to automate the purchasing process the company has to explore and analyze what new technology solutions there are. With regard to this, the study will focus to analyze how a purchasing process in the auto-motive industry can be automated. The authors have chosen to look deeper into three dif-ferent electronic solutions. Thereto the study will examine what impact a certain type of product and supplier has concerning electronic solution. Additionally, how the buyer-supplier relationship is affected of automation is a fundamental question when considering automation, and will therefore be discussed in the study. These questions will concern to study both the buyer’s and the supplier’s perspective.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how a purchasing process can be automated in stra-tegic relationships in the automotive industry, thereto taking product and supplier type into consideration concerning electronic solutions. We will also study the possible effect on the buyer-supplier relationship of automation. A qualitative method has been employed, in or-der to get a more precise and deep knowledge of the subject. The authors have conducted interviews with respondents working at a large car manufacturing company in Sweden, and with three suppliers to this company.</p><p>The study found that there are several areas in the purchasing process that still can be more efficient. Two technological drivers have been outlined as potential solutions: Covisint and web-EDI. Moreover, it is possible to conclude that an automation of a purchasing process will have an effect on the buyer-supplier relationship. The authors have drawn the conclusion that companies should not rush into things such as an automation. Much attention should be paid to the question what degree of an automation that can be allowed before it will have a negative effect on the relationship. Moreover, they should thoroughly study on what electronic solution is most suitable, thereto with consideration to what type of product and supplier one is dealing with.</p> / <p>Företag verkar i en omvärld med snabb teknisk utveckling. Ett led i denna utveckling är att automatisera inköpsprocessen med olika IT lösningar. Nya koncept och elektroniska lös-ningar efterfrågas konstant av företagen för att kunna uppnå mer effektivitet i inköpspro-cessen, känt som E-procurement management. Detta koncept har blivit allmänt utbrett i fordonsindustrin, vilket har sin orsak i att en bil är en system produkt med 20 000 be-ståndsdelar och där av många transaktioner vid inköp av dessa delar. För att kunna automa-tisera inköpsprocessen måste företaget undersöka och analysera vilka nya tekniska lösningar och vilka elektroniska hjälpmedel som finns. Med hänsyn till detta avser denna studie att fokusera på att analysera hur en inköpsprocess i fordonsindustrin kan automatiseras. För-fattarna har valt att titta närmare på tre olika elektroniska hjälpmedel. Därtill kommer stu-dien innehålla att analysera vilken inverkan en viss produkt och leverantörs typ har på val av elektroniska lösningar. En annan väsentlig fråga som också kommer att diksuteras är hur vid en automatisering av inköpsprocessen påverkar leverantörsrelationen. Dessa frågor kommer att innebära att studera både köparen´s och säljaren´s perspektiv.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur en inköpsprocess i strategiska relationer i bil-industrin kan automatiseras, med hänsyn tagen till vilken typ av produkt och leverantör be-träffande val elektroniska hjälpmedel. Vi kommer också studera den eventuella påverkan på kund - leverantör förhållandet som en automatisering kan leda till. För studien har en kva-litativ metod använts, detta för att få en mer precis och djupare kunskap i hur kund- leve-rantör relationen påverkas vid en automatisering. Författarna har genomfört intervjuer hos ett stort biltillverknings företag i Sverige, och med tre av deras leverantörer.</p><p>Studien visade på att där finns ett flertal områden i inköpsprocessen som kan effektivieras. Två drivare har konstaterats som möjliga lösningar : Covisint och web-EDI. Vidare är det möjligt att dra slutsatsen att en automatisering av inköpsprocessen påverkar leverantörsrelationen. Författarna har dragit slutsatsen att företag inte bör rusa in i en automatisering, istället måste uppmärksamheten riktas till frågan om i vilken grad av automatisering som kan tillåtas utan att det får en negativ inverkan på relationen. Vidare bör företaget grundligt studera vilken elektronisk lösning som är mest passande, därtill med hänsyn till vilken typ av produkt och leverantör det handlar om.</p>

<p>In 2005 the wine importer and supplier Pernod Ricard Sweden acquired Allied Domecq, a company with a wide assortment of wines. However, due to Pernod Ricard Sweden’s strategic focus on spirits the last decade they now experience a lack of knowledge of how to best sell and endorse wine to restaurants. After thorough research of present academic literature we have found that there is a theoretical gap of knowledge regarding the relationship between wine suppliers and restaurants and the interactions between them. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on organisational buying behaviour when purchasing in a B2B environment. We have investigated what criteria and services are more important for restaurants when purchasing wine, in order for the supplier to understand the behaviour of the buyer and act accordingly.</p><p>A qualitative research has been conducted where 18 high commercial value restaurants in the region Mälardalen in Sweden were interviewed via telephone. The interview questions consisted of both open-ended questions and close-ended Likert scale questions, in order to receive both deeper answers including the respondents’ own opinions and comments, as well as preference data and attitude measures.</p><p>In the analysis of our data we have discovered the importance of offering a concept and not just a product to the restaurants. In this concept the price in relation to quality is vital, as well as value adding activities such as education, which is important since there is a lack of documented knowledge among the persons responsible for the purchasing of wine. Support and sales meetings have proven to be efficient ways for the supplier to communicate their message to the restaurants rather than the use of traditional communication channels e.g. TV and printed advertisement. Furthermore, we have observed that the relationship between the supplier and the restaurants is crucial. This is due to the fact that most high commercial value restaurants only have one supplier and their emphasised need for the business to run smoothly. Therefore, previous experience of the supplier and the established degree of trust are highly influencing factors.</p><p>We believe that if the results of our study are taken into consideration, the supplier has a great chance of becoming successful and creating profitable long-term relationships with high commercial value restaurants.</p>

Around the world, companies are rapidly moving towards outsourcing to enhance their competitive position in the market through reduction in product development cycle times (costs), demands for better quality, improvement in supply chain management and higher expectations from more discriminating and demanding customers (Lyons and Krachenberg, 1990). An outsourcing mechanism consists of two parties, buyer and supplier. Hence, the success of the buyer and supplier relationship is the main factor to achieve successful outsourcing operations. This research studies the buyer and supplier relationship in each relationship type in the Saudi Arabian market; market exchange, captive buyer, strategic partnership and captive supplier. The main objective of this research was to study in depth buyer and supplier relationships (outsourcing) by discovering which problems exist in each type of relationship, how they can be controlled and what are their effects. It examines and tests certain factors associated with the relationships, such as incentives for their creation, relationship problems, cause of problems, problem control mechanisms and finally the effects of these problems on the buyer, the relationship and the market. The methodology used in this study was as follows: an interpretative research philosophy, an inductive research approach and an exploratory research strategy. Semi-structured interviews were found to be the most appropriate method of data collection because they enabled the researcher to gather valid and reliable data. The research model involved all the components affecting the buyer and supplier relationship. These components were categorized and classified in a meaningful way, describing the flow of the relationship from the research perspective in terms of testing the effect of each component in the relationship between buyer and supplier in general and its effect on the category to which it belongs. The data was collected from purchasing employees on the buyers’ side and sales employees on the suppliers’ side. The total number of participating buyer and supplier firms was 57, distributed across manufacturing and service industries. The first data collection phase involved all the buyer data and the second following up, reviewing and completing the data that the researcher thought had been missed during the first phase of interviews, and which needed to be explained more fully by the interviewees. This phase also involved collecting all the supplier data. 40 interviews were conducted to collect buyer data within three months. The 40 interviews involved 88 recorded hours, and each buyer discussed 4 relationships (not necessarily 4 different types of relationship), resulting in a total of 64 market exchange, 30 captive buyer, 22 strategic relationship and 44 captive supplier relationships, accounting for the total of 160 different types of relationships across the 40 different buyers. Supplier data was collected by conducting 17 interviews within 27 days. The 17 interviews involved 34 recorded hours. While the researcher was analyzing the data collected, a special case in market exchange relationship was found. In this case, buyers preferred to deal with suppliers under a captive buyer relationship though the relationship characteristics were market exchange relationship because of their interests. The researcher also found that Saudi firms are the same as other firms in the rest of the world. They are trying to maximize their competitiveness in the market by improving product or service quality and speed of delivery, reducing product or service costs and enhancing decision making efficiency. Additionally, it was found that relationship incentives, arising from buyer wishes or compulsory reasons, create any one of the buyer and supplier relationship types, which were other than what has been mentioned in the outsourcing reasons in the literature. In addition, the researcher also found that relationship incentives might cause problems, so the buyer should be more careful with them. Additionally, there are also other causes that might create agency problems than those mentioned in previous studies. At the same time, it was observed that there are new control mechanisms, not previously discussed in the literature. The study found that the outsourcing relationship is affected negatively, and there are other effects than those mentioned in the literature by Tezuka (1997). In addition, the researcher found that because of the ‘agency’ system in Saudi Arabia its economy is affected negatively. Finally, the original research conceptual model was found applicable to all types of relationship.

As product complexity increases and markets become more global, companies tend to collaborate with customers, suppliers and partners in business process activities previously carried out within a single firm. This is observed notably also in product development. Product development is an information and communication intense activity, and collaborative product development requires efficient communication between the participating firms, both during an ongoing project and afterwards when the product is in service. When more than one firm is involved, questions linked to business aspects regarding what information to share and how to communicate the information between the firms become important. With changing partners and competing supply chains this is a delicate management issue. The objective of this dissertation is to assess characteristics of communication in collaborative product development, in order to identify requirements for supporting IT tools. Empirically, the research was conducted in two parts. Part I was conducted in the aircraft industry, where a systems integrator firm’s relationship to its major suppliers was investigated. In Part II, collaborative product development between a buyer and several suppliers organized in networks was investigated. These studies were complemented with studies of IS/IT development and implementation projects. Theoretically, it is based on the literature on product development, supply chain management, and IT support for business relationships. Concerning the buyer-supplier dyad it was found that there was not one collaborative product development process in common between the firms, but rather coordination between the firms’ processes. Concerning the relationship between buyer and supplier network, it was found that one of the suppliers represents the network in a dyadic buyer-supplier relationship. Within the supplier network, the firms conducted interorganizational integrated product development, which means that the functions were represented by several firms. This implied that management practices must respect the special characteristic of small and medium-sized firms in collaboration. The investigation of information and communication in collaborative product development in dyads and networks led to a list of requirements on IOIS. The findings were concluded in a matrix that presents characteristics of product development in general, product development in dyads, and product development in supplier networks, and a mapping of the requirements on IOIS. Since the business relationship is the major difference between product development in-house and collaborative product development, it was considered appropriate to take a supply chain view on the requirements for an IOIS. It was found that support is needed both for the procurement and the product development process. Moreover, it was found that project management support can significantly improve the efficiency of the development process. Improvements of the effectiveness regard support for the product life cycle, and for the long-term relationship between the parties. It was concluded that an IOIS for collaborative product development should be based on standard technology and support standard formats, in order to make it possible for a firm to simultaneously manage its own systems and proprietary information, and exchange information with partners when needed. / LARP - Lean Aircraft Research Program / NISAM - Ny industriell samverkan

The discipline of marketing is evolving from a product centric paradigm where all value is invested in the product by the supplier and it is exchanged for a market determined price by means of an arm’s length transaction, to a service centric paradigm where value is co-created by customer and supplier through complex relationships in which the rewards are determined through negotiation. This study recognizes that in practice a supplier will and ought to continue to have some customer relationships that are transactional and others that involve higher levels of value co-creation. A five point continuum of relationships from transactional to strategic alliance is defined. Dyadic data in which customer and supplier are asked to evaluate the same relationship from their respective points of view are analyzed resulting in a portfolio of a supplier’s relationships that include each of the five levels. Three structured equation models are validated: first, the customer’s assessment of the level of relationship as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures; second, the supplier’s assessment as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures of investment; third, the differences between customer and supplier assessments as a function of differences in ratings of new, behaviorally anchored measures. Additionally, segmentation of the customer base is identified based on the level of assessment of the current and desired future level of relationship. Servicing processes are defined to enable the supplier to match the right offerings to each level of customer thereby optimizing their investment in their customer portfolio.