Challenging the organization: the implementation of key account management

Abstract

Managing market relations includes — besides other aspects — an organizational dimension [Day 2000, p. 29]:³³⁵ the supplier’s key processes must be internally integrated and externally aligned with the corresponding processes of the customer. For integrating and aligning processes with their most important customers, companies often implement key account management. However, the implementation of key account management seems to be rather challenging for the company’s organization: new teams for individual customers are set up, resources are re-allocated and responsibilities are redistributed.³³⁶

For further managerial challenges in interorganizational business relationships see Möller/Halinen [2000, p. 45–49].

Day [2000, p. 24] emphasizes in this context that the relevance of relationship marketing has been qualified as building close relationships is neither appropriate nor necessary for every market, customer, or company. In addition, not every firm can or should try to master the exchange process of market relationship. The defining feature of a market-relating capability therefore are the processes that span boundaries between firms and between functions inside a firm or link the firm to each of its customers.