Gabriel: Sales and marketing

Résumé du document

Supplier of upholstery fabrics and related textiles products and services to manufactures and lead users of upholstered furniture, seats and upholstered surfaces.
When characterizing the upholstery industry, we see that it operates on a B2B basis supplying manufactures with entering goods. At the same time it is a heterogeneous market where players are focusing on differentiation and segmentation. The customers that are supplied by the industry are very different in nature and all have different requirements in terms of price, quality, design, delivery etc. E.g. A company producing blinds for JYSK will not have the same textile requirements for quality and design as a company producing high-end furniture for BoConcept. Textile manufacturers are therefore just as different in nature as the different industries to which they supply. When segmenting the purchase category we define the buy as a high or low revenue impact/business risk and whether the procurement complexity is high or love.

As textiles are critical components in the customers finished products it is being categorized as having the highest customer value impact. In this sense the procurement complexity is seen as high as well as the revenue impact/business risk. Determining which textiles to buy (quality, design, usability, price etc.) will have an effect on corporate performance but also brand image as the textiles are highly visual parts of the finished product.

Extraits

[...] Levels of procurement development and pathways to savings/revenue enhancement B2B companies of upholstered fabrics therefore work with value added exchange or collaborative exchange (relationship marketing). This is a direct result of a consume better or sell better strategy within the levels of procurement development. For the textile manufacturer it is therefore important to show capabilities that will uncover not only cost savings for the customers but also added value to other areas of the supply chain. Logistics, sales, production, design etc. are all areas within the supply chain in which the textile manufacturer will collaborate closely with the customers. [...]

[...] At the same time it has been crucial to nurture and maintain the relationship in a consume better/sell better development. Gabriel has managed to maintain the collaborative relationship with key customers during the crisis. This proves that managing customers as assets while nurturing customer relationship management capabilities will ensure that customers are not likely to switch. It is good business. Question 2 Review: The industry operates on a B2B basis offering upholstery fabrics and related textile products and services. When segmenting the B2B customers of the industry we would apply macro segmentation through a statistical analysis approach. [...]

[...] Gabriel's core product is not only textiles but also “product and process innovation”. They have outsourced the entire production and focus is therefore on the supply chain and design. Classifying goods for the business market Within the upholstery industry the core product (textiles) are a critical component of the customers finished product. It is therefore seen as entering goods by the customers and a vital part to their production - but also as a variable cost that has a significant impact on the bottom line. [...]

[...] But just as important . who would be interested in such a relationship. Q1: We will start by identifying how the product enters the customers' production process and how it affects the cost structure (Classifying Goods, model). This will enable us to analyze how the buy is segmented on the basis of procurement complexity and the revenue impact it has for the customer (Segmenting the buy, model). With this information we are able to look at the customer relationship (Levels of procurement development, model) to discuss the level of involvement and development. [...]

[...] Taking into consideration that we and our customers have been challenged by the worst financial crises since the depression in the 1930's and still make an optimistic profit should be celebrated. My recommendation is to keep the current approach as many of the business units still needs to be incorporated 100% into the company. When this happens and when the financial crisis is turned around I am more than optimistic about the future of Gabriel. Bibliography Business Marketing Mangement, 11th ed. Michael D. Hutt & Thomas W. Speh South Western Cengage Learning 2010 ISBN: 978-0-324-58163-8 - Relationship Marketing, Exploring relational strategies in marketing 4th ed. [...]