Universal Postal Union Key Account Management

Key Account Management

Strategic Implications

Alassane Guiro
Research and Marketing
Development Programme Manager

(Quito, 21-24 August 2008)

International Bureau of the UPU

Strategic focus Key Account Management

• Key account management is a strategic business

approach with the objective of ensuring long-
term and sustainable business development
through profitable partnerships with strategically
important customers

• Key account management is not an isolated

business process. It is an intregrative element of
the business strategy.

• Successful KAM requires the development of an

organisational culture that facilitates both
radical innovation and cross-functional working
relationship
Strategic implications Key Account Management

• KAM as core to business: For KAM to be

able to deploy its full potential and benefits,
it is crucial that it be positioned in the
organisation as a core to the business. Full
commitment and involvement of the CEO
and top management are key to success

• Capacity building: Developing internal

capabilities and capacity in terms of
knowledge, structures, systems and tools is
a requirement for long-term success
Getting organised Key Account Management

• Key account managers act as the corporate

principal points of contact for key customers.
They represent their company to their accounts,
and bear the responsibility of representing those
accounts within their own company. The WIN-
WIN approach they are to apply determines how
the supplier Post can help the customer grow its
business and grow the business of the Post in
return.

• KAM must be positioned and empowered

to be able to integrate different internal
resources located in different divisions,
departments, or even subsidiaries of the
Post to serve the key customers.
Integrative management Key Account Management
The leading role of the CEO Key Account Management

Marketing & Sales

HR, IT
Others CEO Finance

Operations

Operating as a team of interdependant strategic business units or functions

 Commitment of Top Management Key Account Management

Customer-
Operational
Focused
Excellence
Strategy

Customer-Focused
Organization

Success requires integration and alignment of key building blocks

Customer service issues Key Account Management

Market
Customers’ service Organization’s
expectations Information Gap understanding of
expectations

Service
Service Quality standards Gap
Gap

Customers’ service Customer Organization’s service

perception specifications

Service
Communication performance Gap
Gap

Organization’s Organization’s
communications to Communication
Gap service performance
customers

Customer Service Improvement – Potential Gaps to Monitor and Bridge

Knowledge management Key Account Management

• Why do they even exist?

Information about competitors
• Where do they add value for customers?
• Which of my customers are of most
interest to them?
• What is their cost base and liquidity?
• Are they less exposed with their suppliers
than we are?
• What do they intend to do in the future?
• How will their activity affect my
strategies?
• How much better than them do we have Systems and pr
to be to win their customers?
• Are there any new competitors or new
ways of doing things which will appear in
the next few years?
• If I were a customer would I choose my
product over those offered by
competitors?

Information needs BIS requirements

Knowledge management Key Account Management

• How many
• Large/medium/small
Information about customers

• Existing/new/potential/lost
• Their perceptions
• Their needs
• Growth potential
• Principal strengths and weaknesses
• Their own business development
challenges
• Their competitors Systems and pr
• Their key personnel (decision-makers or
influencers) and decision making
process
• Our image/competitors’ image
• Their attitudes to our products or
services
• New requirements
• Our performance rating across all
aspects of our product/service offering

Information needs BIS requirements

Information Systems Key Account Management

Performance
Management
Improvement
Information
Measurement
systems
systems

Customers

Communications Operational
systems Systems

KAM support systems and processes

Reforming for success Key Account Management

•Ensuring that the changes planned and expected

do not turn out to be disruptive.

•Ensuring a more precise assessment of current and

prospective strengths, weaknesses and needs in
each at each link.

•Identifying and overcoming internal barriers that

prevent quality support

•Ensuring all support functions play a key role in

servicing major accounts

•Giving employees empowerment to create the

time, space and systems and take actions vital for
customer satisfaction
Organisation Congruence Key Account Management
Durable
SUCCESS

t ion s Win-Win
u a es
E q ucc Benefits
n ge to S
h a ay Systems
h e C thw Processes
T Pa
e
Th

Structure

Strategy

VISION

Assuring Congruence
Aligning Vision, Strategy, Structure, People, Systems and Processes
A Shared Vision Key Account Management

The Post will be a

market-driven,

customer-oriented,

profitable organization that

supports social and economic growth by

providing reliable and efficient
processing of information, financial
transactions and goods to meet the
changing needs of customers.
The ultimate Challenge
Aligning Vision, Strategy, Structure, People, Systems and Processes
Delivering on promise Key Account Management

Customer service charter

• We will
- provide high-quality, secure and reliable services.
- publish clear performance standards, monitor performance
regularly against the standards, and publish the results.
- publish clear and up-to-date information about our
services.
- provide customer contact points where you can
make enquiries and complaints, and seek
compensation.
- respond professionally, courteously and promptly in
all our dealings with you.
- monitor how satisfied you are with our services, and
we will constantly seek improvements in all areas,
to meet your needs.

Making promises that the organisation will keep

Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationships and KAM is no exception
 Universal Postal Union Key Account Management

The company’s assets and

competences are not
necessarily strengths or
weaknesses in themselves but
become so in the way they
meet the customer critical
success factors. They should
regularly be assessed and
upgrated to this end.

THANK YOU
Universal Postal Union © UPU 2007 – All rights reserved