Showing papers on "Customer relationship management published in 2000"

E-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success

Abstract: Revolutions begin with attacks on the language. Today's managers are bombarded with an alphabet soup of technology acronyms such as CRM, ERP, and SCM. Managers must manage in the fog of this technology revolution. Kalakota and Robinson's book provides a lens for managers who want to understand the terminology and take action--to grasp the opportunities or defend against the invading virtual competitors. When the history of e-business is written--perhaps sooner than we think--this book will go down as a management landmark that helped clear the fog of mumbo jumbo and provided a beacon through which managers could chart their course. --Michael Quinn, eStrategy Director, B2B Commerce Ltd.To survive and succeed in today's complex business world, all companies--from established industry leaders to feisty upstarts--must develop a strategy that allows them to take maximum advantage of the latest trends in technology. Successful companies have implemented focused e-business strategies to build cutting-edge enterprises that serve and retain customers, manage suppliers, and integrate selling chains better than ever before. Others, unfortunately, are lured into ill-fated ventures by the ever-changing roster of buzzwords, fads and analogies.A timely follow-up to the best-seller on this crucial topic, e-Business 2.0 reveals how managers are rewiring the enterprise to take maximum advantage of e-business. Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson present an innovative application framework that guides the migration from a traditional business model to an e-business model. Drawing on their extensive personal experience working with leading businesses, they provide a clear picture of the benefits and challenges that e-business companies face and identify the fundamental design principles for building a successful e-business blueprint.This new edition incorporates the latest strategies and techniques gained from the experiences of the first generation of e-businesses. In addition to updated information on application framework design, the book now features more detail on strategy and e-business execution. e-Business 2.0 shows how e-commerce has evolved into e-business and identifies the 20 key e-business trends that are shaping today's economy. It then addresses core application frameworks--customer relationship management, selling chain management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, e-procurement, and business intelligence--and shows how each forms the foundation of an e-business strategy. 0201721651B06012001

Managing a virtual workplace

Abstract: Executive Overview Virtual workplaces, in which employees operate remotely from each other and from managers, are a reality, and will become even more common in the future. There are sound business reasons for establishing virtual workplaces, but their advantages may be offset by such factors as setup and maintenance costs, loss of cost efficiencies, cultural clashes, isolation, and lack of trust. Virtual teams and telework are examples of such arrangements, but they are not appropriate for all jobs, all employees, or all managers. To be most effective in these environments, managers need to do two things well: Shift from a focus on time to a focus on results; and recognize that virtual workplaces, instead of needing fewer managers, require better supervisory skills among existing managers. Taking these steps can lead to stunning improvements in productivity, profits, and customer service.

Methods and systems for defining, applying and executing customer care relationship plans

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for managing a plurality of customer relationship plans may include a step of collecting profile check values from a database of customer data, the collected profile check values including customer data corresponding to profile checks for each of the plurality of customer relationship plans. The collected profile check values may then be applied to predefined selection criteria in one or more of the plurality of customer relationship plans. The selection criteria determines whether a customer relationship plan of the plurality of customer relationship plans applies to a customer. One or more customer relationship plans may then be assigned or de-assigned to each of the selected customers, depending upon whether the applied profile check values satisfy or fail to satisfy the predefined selection criteria, respectively. The assigned customer relationship plan(s) may then be applied and one or more synchronous and/or an asynchronous actions may be carried out upon the occurrence of a selectable customer event, as called for by applied customer relationship plan(s). The profile checks may include one or more plan indicator, such as customer opportunity size, customer size, market segment or a user-definable business event, for example.

Accelerating Customer Relationships: Using Crm and Relationship Technologies

Abstract: Leverage people, processes, activities, information, and technologies to... Acquire new, more profitable customers Build long-term customer loyalty Serve every customer as an individual Drive powerful marketing opportunities Increase profits and shareholder value!The start-to-finish guide to breakthrough customer relationship management!In Accelerating Customer Relationships, a world-renowned CRM expert shows you how to build knowledge "infostructures" that deliver breakthrough profitability and customer loyalty. Ronald S. Swift walks you step by step through integrating every customer touchpoint: retail, Web, call center, and beyond. Swift covers every aspect of enterprise-wide relationship management-strategies, processes, partnerships, platforms, software, methodologies, and more. Through proven methods, practical examples, and case studies, you'll discover how to create the customer-centric environment to: Identify what your most profitable customers share in common-then find more customers just like them! Shorten your sales cycle by anticipating your customer's requirements and expectations more accurately Manage your channel partnerships and other relationships more profitably Maintain customer privacy and confidentiality while gaining the benefits of profiling Calculate the economic value of customer relationship management Discover the key factors that make or break CRM for your organizationThe high-value, loyal customer is the #1 key focal point for growth organizations worldwide! Today's relationship technologies give you an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and deepen the customer relationships you care about most. Ronald S. Swift can show you how to do it-before your competitors do! "Ron Swift's book is designed to help you tie the loyalty knot with your customers. It has the tools, the framework, and the know-how to deliver customers and profits." - Martha Rogers, Ph.D., Peppers and Rogers Group and co-author of The One to One Future and One to One B2B "When your customers know you know them, your business is bound for success. Ron Swift's book provides the tools, the framework, and the know-how to build rock solid CRM and DW strategies to deliver customers and profits. Ron continues his excellence with profound and practical knowledge and advice." - Bill Inmon, Father of the Data Warehousing concept, and author of 30 books on Data Warehousing, Decision Support, and Database Technology

Unbundling the corporation

Abstract: The forces that fractured the computer industry are bearing down on all industries. In the face of changing interaction costs and the new economics of electronic networks, companies must ask themselves the most basic of all questions: what business are we in? In the late 1970s, the computer industry was dominated by huge vertically integrated companies such as IBM, Burroughs, and Digital Equipment. With their vast scale advantages and huge installed bases, they seemed unassailable. Yet just ten years later, power in the industry had shifted: the behemoths were struggling to survive while an army of smaller, highly specialized companies was thriving. What happened? The industry's sea change can be traced back to 1978, when a then-tiny company, Apple Computer, launched the Apple II PC. The Apple II's open architecture unlocked the computer business, creating opportunities for many new companies that specialized in producing specific hardware and software components. Immediately, the advantages of the generalist--size, reputation, integration--began to wither. The new advantages--creativity, speed, flexibility--belonged to the specialist. The story of the computer industry illustrates the crucial role played by interaction costs in shaping industries and companies. Interaction costs represent the money and time expended whenever people and companies exchange goods, services, or ideas [1] The exchanges can occur within companies, among companies, and between companies and customers, and they can take many everyday forms, including management meetings, conferences, telephone conversations, sales calls, reports, and memos. In a real sense, interaction costs are the friction in the economy. Taken together, interaction costs determine the way companies organize themselves and form relationships with other parties. When the interaction costs of undertaking an activity internally are lower than the costs of undertaking it externally, companies tend to incorporate it into their own organization rather than contract it to outside parties. All else being equal, a company will organize itself in whatever way minimizes its overall interaction costs. Apple's open architecture sharply reduced interaction costs in the computer industry. By conforming to a set of well-documented standards, companies could, for the first time, work together easily to produce complementary products and services. As a result, tightly coordinated webs of specialized companies, with names such as Adobe Systems, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Novell, and Sun Microsystems, could form and ultimately compete effectively against the entrenched, vertically integrated giants. Many of the new companies grew very large very quickly but never lost their focus on specialized activities. The moral of the story is that changes in interaction costs can cause entire industries to reorganize rapidly and dramatically. Today that fact should give all managers pause, for we are on the verge of a broad, systemic reduction in interaction costs throughout the world economy. Electronic networks, combined with powerful PCs, are permitting companies to communicate and exchange data more quickly and cheaply than ever before. As business interactions move on to electronic networks such as the Internet, basic assumptions about corporate organization will be overturned. Activities that companies have always believed to be central to their business will suddenly be offered by new, specialized competitors that can undertake those activities better, faster, and more efficiently. Executives will be forced to ask the most basic and discomforting question about their companies: what business are we really in? The answer will decide their fate in an increasingly frictionless economy. One company, three businesses Look beneath the surface of most companies and you will find three kinds of businesses: a customer relationship business, a product innovation business, and an infrastructure business. …

Data warehousing supports corporate strategy at first American corporation 1,2

Abstract: From 1990 through 1998, First American Corporation (FAC) changed its corporate strategy from a traditional banking approach to a customer relationship-oriented strategy that placed FAC.s customers at the center of all aspects of the company's operations. The transformation made FAC's an innovative leader in the financial services industry. This case study describes FAC's transformation and the way in which a data warehouse called VISION helped make it happen. FAC's experiences suggest lessons for managers who plan to use technology to support changes that are designed to significantly improve organizational performance. In addition, they raise interesting questions about the means by which information technology can be used to gain competitive advantage.

Paradigm Shifts - E-Business and Business/Systems Integration

Abstract: The last decade or so spawned a host of business and technology innovations. On the business side, we saw business process reengineering, the management philosophies of customer relationship management and supply chain management, virtual organizations, electronic commerce, and business-tobusiness trading exchanges. On the technology side, we saw client-server computing, enterprise resource planning systems, the widespread adoption of Internet protocols, intranets and enterprise information portals, software package support for customer relationship management, supply chain management and other activities related to electronic business, and applications service providers. This tutorial puts put these business and technology innovations into historical context and relates them to one another through the unifying concepts of business integration and systems integration. One theme of the tutorial is the incomplete linkage between business integration and systems integration. Another is the imperfect relationship between the management philosophies of customer relationship management, supply chain management and electronic

The eMarketplace: Strategies for Success in B2B eCommerce

Abstract: From the Publisher: One trillion dollars. That's what's at stake in the next few years in business-to-business e-commerce. Research shows that b-to-b spending will soar from $43 billion to over $1 trillion. Meanwhile,in the same span of time,business-to-consumer spending is expected to rise from $7. 8 to only $108 billion. That's what's in the future for business-to-business electronic commerce,and companies like eSteel and PlasticsNet are already halfway there. Look no further than this comprehensive guide from two of the most respected professionals in the b-to-b realm. In this book MarchFIRST's Warren Raisch and William Kane,Jr.,show readers exactly how to cash in on the e-commerce craze. Drawing from their experience at MarchFIRST,one of the leading Internet b-to-b strategy companies,the authors outline strategies for making your product known. Invaluable case studies of companies who've already taken the plunge help readers construct reliable methods and models of operation. Experts project that more than one trillion dollars in business to business spending will pass through global digital markets in the next few years. This presents both a significant opportunity and a challenge to all who plan to conduct businesses in the new economy. Welcome to the future­­welcome to the eMarketplace. Effective business models in the new economy merge digital and physical transactions to form a seamless whole. Simply put,the successful companies will be those that capitalize fully on the technology that makes it possible to conduct business electronically,instantly,and more efficiently­­without sacrificing the important element of human interaction. TheeMarketplace is a practical,much-needed guide to this rapidly evolving industry. In clear,jargon-free language,the book presents an overview of the business dynamics behind the current and emerging digital marketplace,as well as the key market data,terminology,and business model definitions needed to chart the opportunities ahead. Drawing from their extensive experience,Warren Raisch and William Kane,Jr. outline the three key areas of evolution that will change business dramatically and provide a wealth of expertise,practical advice,tips and strategies. This essential resource includes chapters on: Understanding the ebusiness infrastructure Developing an effective e-team Forming strategic alliances Designing content strategies Taking business global Building value into the supply chain Creating a high growth organization Developing a sustainable,profitable business model The eMarketplace is also filled with enlightening case studies of successful and flawed business-to-business e-commerce models. Additionally,sharing their thoughts and perspectives on the new economy,commerce flow,knowledge exchanges,and infrastructure,are top visionary leaders of the Internet Age such as Keith Krach,CEO of Ariba; Mark Hoffman,Chairman and CEO of Commerce One; and Gideon Gartner,founder of Gartner Group and Giga Group. The industry moves at the speed of the Internet. In order to succeed,it is necessary to not just keep up with the latest developments,but stay one step ahead. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to succeed in the next generation of e-business. "As a leading financial services firm committed to using the Internet and auction processes to provide more open and accessible markets, at W. R. Hambrecht we see the principles outlined in this book put into practice everyday. " William R. Hambrecht CEO,W. R. Hambrecht & Co "By bringing together the lessons of successful web communities, a first-hand familiarity with technology platforms,and insight into marketplace economics,Raisch has produced a must-read for anyone who is either developing or taking part in an electronic marketplace. " Andy Zimmerman Chief Operating Officer idealab! New York As high-tech as the world becomes,the need for human interaction is still a crucial element to all business. The eMarketplace shows how to incorporate the latest technology,and still maintain that crucial element of humanity. Filled with case studies,expert,advice and an invaluable 11-step business planning process for developing your own e-commerce strategies,this book is the definitive resource for the ever-evolving eMarketplace.

Data Mining Cookbook: Modeling Data for Marketing, Risk, and Customer Relationship Management

Abstract: From the Publisher: Increase profits and reduce costs by utilizing this collection of models of the most commonly asked data mining questions In order to find new ways to improve customer sales and support, and as well as manage risk, business managers must be able to mine company databases. This book provides a step-by-step guide to creating and implementing models of the most commonly asked data mining questions. Readers will learn how to prepare data to mine, and develop accurate data mining questions. The author, who has over ten years of data mining experience, also provides actual tested models of specific data mining questions for marketing, sales, customer service and retention, and risk management. A CD-ROM, sold separately, provides these models for reader use.

Loyalty.com: Customer Relationship Management in the New Era of Internet Marketing

Abstract: From the Book: We entered the Interactive Age in 1995. That was the year that personal computers outsold TV sets for the first time. The same year, the number of e-mail messages exceeded the number of regular stamped letters. By 1998, the Web was headed inexorably toward normalization, as those hopping onto the Internet for the first time included a growing percentage of people who hadn't been to college. The year 2001 has been designated as the year one in six world citizens will be online, many of them wirelessly. In five years, we will all be spending more waking hours online than offline. When I met Don Peppers in January 1990, we knew that communication was being miniaturized and that technology was giving us newfound powers. Over the next three years, we devoted nearly all of our attention to figuring out what that would mean for business. Our first book, The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time, appeared in 1993, before widespread use of the Web. Back then, we proposed that as the Industrial Age inevitably yielded to the Age of Information and Interactivity, strategies of successful companies would likewise have to change. Thus an enterprise would plan strategies designed to win share of customer rather than market share and to measure its success on retention, customer equity, and returns on data assets rather than just on ROI and market share. Companies would learn to measure each customer's profitability and put customer managers in charge of portfolios of customers. More and more, the enterprise would bring products to customers, not just customers to products. The resulting 1to1 enterprise would engage in a Learning Relationship with individual customersthat worked like this. I know who you are. I remember you. I get you to talk to me. And then, because I know something about you my competitors don't know, I can do something for you my competitors can't do-not for any price. This means the customer actually adds the value to what you can do for her and will find it easier and less costly to do more business with you than to start over somewhere else. You will help her create her own barrier to exit. You will no longer buy her loyaltyyou will sell it to her. In working with blue-chip clients worldwide, we have learned a great deal about the strategies an enterprise will follow in progressing toward 1 to 1 The first requirement is to identify customers-to tag them so that each one can be identified through any channel, across transactions and interactions over time. Once an individual customer can be seen as one complete customer across the enterprise, the enterprise can differentiate customers by both the different values that customers have to the firm and the unique needs that each valuable customer has from the firm. To learn enough to differentiate customers, the enterprise will interact with customers and keep track of these individual dialogs, learning a bit more with every interaction, at every touchpoint. Finally, the enterprise will embark upon the hardest strategy: customization, or treating different customers differently, often by automating the personalization process in a way that increases customer loyalty even as it almost inevitably reduces the cost of operations. These steps are tough. Those companies that can achieve the first three-identify, differentiate, and interact-can claim to have achieved CRM and database marketing. The enterprises that go one step further, which learn to use feedback from each customer to customize for each one individually, will be engaged in active ltol Learning Relationships. Six short years and three books later, now everybody wants to "do CRM." Consulting companies, software enablers, client businesses, large and small, public and private, business to consumer and business to business-all want to get under the CRM umbrella. The irony is that Customer Relationship Management is often none of those three: Often it's not about the customer; it's about the sales force. It's not about relationships; it's about data mining. And it's not about management; it's promotion marketing. Fred. Newell, in his first book, The New Rules of Marketing (1997), began the process of offering practical advice to companies trying to make the transition to CRM and 1 to 1. Here he continues, in even more depth, by offering real help that turns data into strategies, and customers into equity. Most managers and companies have heard the wakeup call, and they believe that customer centricity is the key to success in the future. The hard part now is becoming fluent in alternative thinking, strategies, and tactics-breaking away from the responses and policies that our parents and grandparents taught us for the past 100 years. Fred. Newell, in his practical style, tells you how in simple, straightforward language and then punches the point with one realworld case study after another. I can already envision many readers using the case studies to make the argument for funding their Ito l pilot programs and CRM initiatives. The new chief relationship officers, customer portfolio managers, CRM consultants, business-oriented IT and CIO leadersand ltol pioneers-are dedicated to turning customers in valuable assets. The question now is how to get CRM done. This book will tell you how.

Is a critical incident critical for a customer relationship

Abstract: Focuses on the criticality of critical incidents in customer relationships. Aims to discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the notion of “critical” in a critical incident. Why is something perceived as critical? What does it lead to? Is criticality a feature built into the service or is it a contextually‐defined phenomenon, depending both on the customer, the service provider, the interaction and the surrounding relationship environment? Suggests a contextual framework for describing, analysing and understanding critical incidents, based on the idea that critical incidents are always embedded in customer relationships. Two interdependent context dimensions are used: the time dimension, and the situational dimension. These elements, combined, lead to a focus on customer‐perceived and relationship‐oriented contexts, which reveal new insights into the role of critical incidents. This framework is used in an empirical study concerning business customers’ perceptions of “critical incidents” in their relationship with a hotel. The findings indicate that the majority of positive and negative critical incidents reported had only a minor impact on customer behavior.

Managing business-to-business relationships throughout the e-commerce procurement life cycle

Abstract: E‐commerce technologies provide effective and efficient ways in which corporate buyers can gather information rapidly about available P/S (products and services), evaluate and negotiate with suppliers, implement order fulfillment over communications links, and access post‐sales services. From the supplier side, marketing, sales, and service information is also readily gathered from customers. Building and maintaining customer relationships is the key to success in e‐commerce and, unless service is maintained, customer loss may result, more than offsetting any cost efficiencies due to introducing e‐commerce technology. Since the core of e‐commerce is information and communications, support for managing customer relationships is available to those who know how to use it. Discusses how technology can be used to encourage and facilitate customer‐business relationships. Shows through a customer relationship life cycle model how the management of related procurement functions in customer companies can adjust to take advantage of these relationships.

Thoughts on RFM scoring

Abstract: Direct marketing is fundamentally the scientific control of customer acquisition and contact. This paper addresses the fundamental questions of RFM (recency, frequency and monetary). Since direct marketing segmentation is a science, it is important to quantify customer behaviour so that the short- and long-term effect of the segmentation formulae can be tested. The purpose of RFM is to provide a simple framework for quantifying customer behaviour. Too often, direct marketers will use static customer selections. This paper explains clearly why RFM is a superior method for selecting customers.

System and method for suggesting interaction strategies to a customer service representative

Abstract: A system and methods for suggesting interaction strategies to customer service representatives in a customer relationship management environment which includes analyzing customer data to determine one or more patterns and generating a set of rules based upon the patterns. A recommendation engine is used to compare the rules to a current customer interaction to recognize one or more of the patterns in the interaction. Real-time interaction strategies are then suggested which correspond to the recognized patterns.

The Purchasing and Control of Supplementary Third-Party Logistics Services

Abstract: SUMMARY Mass customization poses a challenge to the development of competitive supply chains. Third-party logistics service providers are targeting customizing operations to supplement their transport and warehousing services. Their expansion is driven by strategies for adding value and upgrading customer relations. This article assesses the development of these relations by presenting the results of a survey conducted among service providers. The assessment covers the nature of the purchasing policy and governance structure applied in this particular type of interfirm relations, including the type of services, contracts, frequency, level, and content of coordination and communication among parties in the chain. It was found that the new transactional context does not represent a market environment in which third parties can escape traditional arm's-length fixed contracts. It was also found that supplementary customizing services are not often applied. Recommendations are made about purchasing these services and about initiatives for third parties to start expanding their competence within the governance structure.

The integrated customer management system and method using wireless barcode

Abstract: The present invention relates to a customer management system and method using LCD barcode displayed on mobile terminal. The present invention is capable of simply and conveniently identifying customers using commodity barcodes being widely used and customer information barcodes on celular phones, realizing effective marketing at minimum cost according to the purchase propensities or preferences of the customers for commodities and rapidly providing the customers with a variety of commodity information and a variety of benefits based on the results of their abrcode use at any place, thereby effectively managing the customers integratedly.

Total relationship management (TRM) and total quality management (TQM)

Abstract: Companies operate and compete in a highly and aggressive global climate. This climate has led to an increased emphasis on quality. TQM focuses on the integration and co‐ordination, as well as on the continuous improvement of all activities and processes. Total relationship management (TRM) is a very recent marketing strategy and philosophy. It focuses on and is concerned with all integrated internal and external activities within and between organizations. TQM in marketing can have a major impact upon an organization by improving customer relationships and satisfaction, reducing marketing expenses, increasing sales as well as providing a competitive edge. This paper, is a theoretical and conceptual one, provides marketing and management implications on how to integrate TQM and TRM in order to achieve better quality of the relationships, product/service and the process. The aim of this paper is to shed light on how these approaches, i.e. TRM and TQM, can be integrated, and to suggest how the work on TQM ca...

Internet Banking-An Update from the Frontlines

Abstract: Back in the spring of '99 when I asked community bankers to tell me about their plans for full-service Internet banking, the typical responses were, "Not until next year--and only after we're done with Y2K," or "My customers aren't demanding it." What a difference a few months make. Now, at the turn of the millennium, those folks are singing a very different tune. Around the country, increasing numbers of community banks have made implementing a competitive Internet banking strategy one of their top priorities for 2000. To get a sense of market activity, we asked 1,000 banks who already had websites to complete our Five Minute CEO Survey on their Internet banking efforts. Their responses provide valuable insights for community bankers trying to move up the Internet banking learning curve. Collectively, the responses offer insight about how far the banking industry has come in its pursuit of e-customers today and where it is going in the very near future. Seven real-time observations As any banker who has been involved with this revolutionary new financial services delivery channel will tell you, the following are becoming self-evident when it comes to Internet banking: 1 No bank wants to be left behind when it comes to the e-banking revolution. Being a fast second may have worked in the past, but with developments now moving at "the speed of the Internet" falling too far behind may make it effectively impossible, or at least very difficult, to catch up with your competitors. 2 Most banks with websites are already providing or implementing full service Internet banking to their customers, or have it as a high priority strategic objective for 2000. These banks fully understand that Internet banking is the cornerstone of an effective customer relationship management strategy. 3 Bank customers are becoming increasingly more interested in having Internet access to their bank. As a CEO of a $200 million in assets bank told me, "Potential new customers are asking us two questions: First, "What are your Saturday banking hours," and second, "Do you offer Internet banking?" For all bankers, the major question is just how long will current customers be willing to wait for Internet banking before they move their business to a competitor. 4 Community banks are adopting Internet banking in a phased progression, from the establishment of an initial billboard style website, to offering enhanced content on that site, and ultimately to offering full service Internet banking, including balance inquiries, bill payment, account opening, loan applications, etc. 5 The initial compelling force behind implementing Internet banking has been defensive. Most CEOs said they moved forward simply out of a desire to hold on to their current customers. The objective of attracting new customers was a secondary concern. Banks were basically setting up websites because their competitors were doing the same. Now they are focusing on the opportunities the Internet provides to reach customers and to avoid the limitation associated with a traditional bricks and mortar strategy. In short, instead of looking over their shoulders, many bankers are looking down the road at new opportunities. 6 Capitalizing on Internet banking is a journey, not a walk around the block. The basics include developing a marketing strategy for driving traffic to the site, increasing actual utilization of services over the Internet, offering a broad array of e-commerce services, and ultimately establishing a web based loyalty management program. 7 The economics of Internet banking are not yet fully understood. The economics of losing a good, profitable customer are. Building barriers to customers exiting The single most important driving force behind the increasing momentum of banks implementing full service Internet banking is to create powerful barriers to customers exiting. …

Building predictive models within interactive business analysis processes

Abstract: A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that dynamically builds predictive models. The system is used by business users who are unfamiliar with the art of data mining. A model-building mechanism in a data mining subsystem is presented with a training segment consisting of records with appropriate input attributes and an output attribute to be predicted; the model-building mechanism builds a model in the form of a business measure that can subsequently be applied to make predictions against other like segments.

Reflections on bank–customer interactions in the new millennium

Abstract: Having relatively recently embraced the concept of marketing, banks approach the new millennium operating in an increasingly competitive and fragmented marketplace with financially literate consumers. This competition combined with the prevailing low interest rate environment means that traditional banks with extensive branch networks are having their profitability margins squeezed. New technology presents opportunities for banks to become both more efficient (in terms of cost reduction) and more effective (in terms of customer profiling and informed targeted selling). As many groups of customers become more content with interacting with their bank through remote technological channels (eg phone, Internet) the implications for bank–customer relationships are important. Recent research shows that new ‘electronic banking’ channels, while being keenly embraced throughout the industry, are being pursued more for their cost-based advantages than for their business development or relationship management capabilities. Given that the key power of the Internet arguably rests in its interactive capabilities, and that relationships are predicated upon interactively, it seems appropriate to conclude with some key issues for future electronic banking strategy with particular emphasis on staff–customer relationships.

Strategy and Relationships: Defining the Interface in Supply Chain Contexts

Abstract: The emergence of the network organization is a phenomenon that has given rise to much comment and analysis. These virtual organizations are characterized by a confederation of specialist skills or capabilities provided by the network members. It is argued that in turbulent environments such collaborative arrangements can provide a more effective means of satisfying customer needs at a profit than the single firm undertaking multiple value‐creating activities. The implications of the network organization for relationship management are considerable. In particular, the challenges to logistics management are profound. The analysis of relationships is clearly linked to competitive strategy in a network context, yet the exploration of the interface between relationships, strategy and supply chain management is far from complete. Therefore, this paper seeks to conceptualize the relationship strategy interface in supply chain contexts. A framework is proposed and its basic principles illustrated through an analysis of the development of relationship strategies between leading market players in the UK brewing industry.

The supply‐side of IT outsourcing: the trend towards mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

Abstract: Explores the supply‐side of the global IT outsourcing marketplace. Argues that companies should seek to understand the strategic positioning of IT suppliers. In recent years, the large IT service providers have made inroads into new vertical markets from health care to e‐commerce. They have also expanded their service offerings to include business process outsourcing (BPO), customer relationship management (CRM) and e‐business. Explores some of these changes and presents a conceptual framework which captures some of the dynamic changes in the software and computing services industry. These involve mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and partnering.

The Challenge of Global Customer Management

Abstract: Global Account Management is a new process by which multinational companies can better manage their relationships with global customers. This article provides a framework and methodology that managers can use to diagnose whether and how to use global account management. We also report on evidence from a study of 191 senior executives on major multinational companies.

The Challenge of Global Customer Management

Abstract: Global Account Management is a new process by which multinational companies can better manage their relationships with global customers. This article provides a framework and methodology that managers can use to diagnose whether and how to use global account management. We also report on evidence from a study of 191 senior executives on major multinational companies.

Implementing SAP R/3: The Guide for Business and Technology Managers

Abstract: In today's competitive business environment, most companies realize that the better they can manage their customer relationships, the more successful they will become. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software systems are key tools for companies to manage the customer-facing processes of their businesses. However, many companies have resisted implementing this most critical customer-oriented application due in large part to the lack of a single-point resource on implementing a CRM system. This book attempts to fill that gap. Implementing SAP CRM will help technologists and managers come to grips with the vision, concept, and technology of CRM. It begins by laying out the groundwork for understanding CRM. It explains the concept and context of CRM and the tangible business benefits of CRM adoption. Demonstrating a professional approach to the evaluation and selection of SAP, it details the critical success factors (CSFs), patterns, and anti-patterns of a successful SAP CRM implementation. CRM implementations can add significant benefit to the companys bottom line only if the company first transforms itself into a customer-centric and customer-responsive enterprise. This book explains what it means to be a customer-centric and responsive enterprise, and provides a framework for business operations based on customer relationships, rather than the traditional four Ps (product, positioning, price, promotion). It further spells out business process reengineering (BPR) strategies to configure internal business processes and operations with SAP CRM to improve customer-facing strategies, services, and relationships.

Organisational Change and Retail Finance: An Ethnographic Perspective

Abstract: 1. Introduction Part One 2. Organisational Studies and Empirical Description Organisational Studies Revisiting Auspices of Organisational Studies Conclusion 3. Approaches to the Management of Change Approaches to Change Conclusion: The productivity paradox 4. Ethnography and Change What is ethnography? Conclusion 5. Taking customers seriously 'Telling' and 'Selling' - Customer confidence and demeanour work Making sense of the customer: Interviews and local knowledge 6. The Virtual Customer Cooperating with the Customer More than a number: Relationship management and the customer in the machine Conclusion 8. Conclusion