Cracking Key Account Management

There are 10 reasons why companies adopt key account management (KAM) practices. If you have business clients, at least one of these will apply to you. For KAM practices are the suppliers' counterbalance to professional procurement.

KAM is the antidote to growing buyer clout achieved through professional procurement, supply chain networks and company mergers. If suppliers are not to become sellers of commodity priced goods, they need relationship management and KAM practices to even up the balance and provide greater value. But this is not seesaw on the supply curve; it's a fundamental change in the nature of economic value.

By Jennifer Kirkby

About the author

Jennifer Kirkby is the CMC's Strategy & Business Analyst.

Currently a Director of White Waves Ltd, she was formerly CRM Research Director for Gartner, where she was a primary architect of The Eight Building Blocks of CRM and advised numerous Fortune 500 companies across Europe and Asia on their customer strategies, techniques and CRM technology.

Prior to that Jennifer was with the UK’s Modernising Government initiative running programmes to demonstrate how CRM techniques were applicable to Public Services. This followed 15 years of marketing practice in financial services and manufacturing, where she had roles in marketing research, database marketing, brand and product management, business development and strategic marketing.

She holds a degree in Economics from Leeds University and professional qualifications in Marketing, Market Research and Programme Management.