2.3.3 Customer relationship management (CRM)
A development of customer intimacy is customer relationship management (CRM). The principle behind CRM is that marketing strategies are continuously extended in order to strengthen customer loyalty. Eventually, customer and supplier are so closely intertwined that it would be difficult to sever the relationship. In other words, the exit barriers become higher and higher. Figure 2.4 compares CRM thinking with traditional relationships that are limited to buying and selling functions of the organisations concerned (Payne et al., 1995). We explore the issue of partnerships in the supply chain further in Chapter 9.