This case series explores the issues faced by the key account manager appointed to handle one of the company's major accounts, but one that is just about to walk out the door. The cases demonstrate efforts to turn the situation around, including improved knowledge of the client's business and industry, cross-company team building, and a governance process for continual improvement. Learning objectives: The learning objective is to demonstrate how key account management can be the most productive way to increase sales and profits: sell more to existing customers. This requires well coordinated and sometimes difficult actions from the business units and divisions. The case emphasizes the need for the whole team, and not just the key account manager, to invest time in building relationships with the client and become more customer-centric. There are some interesting issues as to who should make decisions, have power, and where the P&L should reside. These depend, in the end, on the history and culture of the organization.

This case series explores the issues faced by the key account manager appointed to handle one of the company's major accounts, but one that is just about to walk out the door. The cases demonstrate efforts to turn the situation around, including improved knowledge of the client's business and industry, cross-company team building, and a governance process for continual improvement. Learning objective: The learning objective is to demonstrate how key account management can be the most productive way to increase sales and profits: sell more to existing customers. This requires well coordinated and sometimes difficult actions from the business units and divisions. The case emphasizes the need for the whole team, and not just the key account manager, to invest time in building relationships with the client and become more customer-centric. There are some interesting issues as to who should make decisions, have power, and where the P&L should reside. These depend, in the end, on the history and culture of the organization.

The case is concerned with the evaluation of a relationship strategy: implementing "JIT" delivery to key customers. The strategy has structural implications and an adaptation may be necessary.

Numico, Europe's second-largest infant food manufacturer, decides to refocus its strategy on its core markets after an ill-fated incursion into the U.S. vitamin market that has left it with large losses. An integral part of the strategy is to launch new and innovative products that address previously untapped needs. Follows the challenges facing Numico and its first supplier of finished products during the launch of the first product under the new strategy. A 2004 EFMD award winner.

Numico, Europe's second largest infant food manufacturer, refocuses its strategy on its core markets. The key is strategic change -- including new product introduction and production rationalization. To improve customer satisfaction levels and reduce costs, the company initiates two large projects, the first is aimed at visibility to demand and inventory levels--and new supply chain practices to coordinate them, with improved reaction time. The second is complete overhaul of the production and distribution process that includes plant reduction, product rationalization and shifting of production to Eastern Europe. The case looks at the challenges for their implementation, the role of a key change manager, and the future of the company.

Focuses on quality management challenges facing Nestle and investigates potentially vulnerable areas of Nestle's supply chain. Describes Nestle's proactive approach in trying to identify its challenges and further improving its performance. Presents four parts of the organization, each facing very different challenges, ranging from traceability and manufacturing efficiency to managing diverse customers.

Given the improved overall quality standards in effect nowadays, companies risk becoming complacent about quality issues. However, with supply chains becoming longer and customers becoming more demanding, quality management continues to be a challenge to companies. Describes Nestle's approach to quality management. Reviews three highly publicized incidents that occurred at Coca-Cola, Firestone, and Snow Brand Milk Products and their dramatic impact on the company and top management. These incidents highlight the fact that quality must be seen from the total supply chain perspective with the main focus on quality in use. Can also be used to study crisis management.

Describes the relationship between Freqon, a producer of frequency converters, and NordAlu, a supplier of extruded aluminum components, over a period of 13 years. Shows how early successes were not sufficiently followed up by improvement efforts later on. Having achieved a substantial level of interaction, joint projects, and sales during the 1990s, by 2000 the relationship was almost back to its original state of limited joint interest and tension between the two companies. Was this just a natural evolution or could the two firms have gone on to a better joint working relationship? The description of the relationship is unique, as case writers rarely have the opportunity to access information for a period of more than 10 years. A winner of the 2002 DSI Best Case Study Award.

Describes a decision to be made on the future of manufacturing for tape drives at Hewlett-Packard. HP has used several different manufacturing partners in the earlier versions of its products. Now HP is facing a decision to outsource manufacturing and create a virtual supply chain for the next product generation. Provides opportunities to discuss the strategic and operational challenges of outsourcing and the use of electronics manufacturing services companies in supply chain operation.

A/S, a Danish company specializing in underwater acoustics and ultrasonics, needs to rethink how it manages new product development. Reson's R&D is working with proprietary basic technologies with development times up to three years. To realize the company's global growth potential, Reson's management must expand its customer base, rethink how to apply proprietary technologies in innovative ways, and bring new customer-specific solutions fast to market. The focus for project management is time, i.e., meeting project deadlines. This sets completely new requirements for project planning and company cooperation.

A large medical electronics firm is refining its outsourcing policies and the new ways in which it needs to work with its suppliers. The firm begins with an objective to purchase assemblies instead of components. This objective evolves until the supplier takes over a large part of the engineering design as well as the product database creation and maintenance. Many problems are encountered, but the product comes to market and is successful. A 1999 EFMD award winner.

A large medical electronics firm develops correct policies for outsourcing. The company develops noncore technology clusters, cluster teams to manage each cluster, and an evolutionary plan for how to interact with supplier partners. A 1999 EFMD award winner.

A large medical electronics firm's policy could not be applied as easily as the company expected. Some adjustments were necessary--depending on the items purchased, existing relationships with suppliers, and the availability of alternative suppliers. A 1999 EFMD award winner.

To reduce high manufacturing overhead, companies should look beyond their direct labor and materials costs to the costs of transactions. These transactions are the exchanges of materials and/or information that are necessary to move production along. They do not directly result in physical products but instead in a kind of "augmented product" that the customer buys--on-time delivery, quality, variety, and design improvement. Three approaches to managing the costs of these transactions are to analyze which transactions are necessary and improve the methods of carrying them out, to increase the stability of operations, and to rely on automation and systems integration.