relationship, supply chain management emphasizes the strategic coordination and
integration of purchasing with other functions within the buying organization as
well as external organizations including customers, customers’ customers, suppliers,
and suppliers’ suppliers. Salespeople must focus on coordinating their efforts with all
parties in the network—end users and suppliers alike—and effectively work to add
value for all members of the network. As described in ‘‘Professional Selling in the
21st Century: Enhancing Value for the Customer through Mobile Technology,’’9
it is clear that advances in mobile communications are making it possible for salespeople
to maintain more effective customer communication even while on the road traveling
between accounts.
Increased Outsourcing
Broader business involvement and expanded integration between organizations is a
natural evolution as buyers and suppliers become increasingly confident of the
other’s performance capabilities and commitment to the relationship. These
expanded agreements often involve outsourcing to a supplier certain activities that
were previously performed by the buying organization. These activities are necessary
for the day-to-day functioning of the buying organization but are not within the
organization’s core or distinct competencies. Outsourcing these activities allows
the organization to focus on what it does best. However, these activities are typically
among those in which the supplying organization specializes or even excels. As a
result of the outsourcing agreement, the relationship gains strength and is further
extended in such a way that all parties benefit over the long term. Outsourcing agreements
place increased emphasis on the role of the salesperson to provide continuing
follow-up activities to ensure customer satisfaction and nurture the buyerseller
relationship. Changes in customer needs must be continually monitored and factored
into the supplier’s market offerings and outsourcing activities.
Target Pricing
Using information gathered from researching the marketplace, buyers establish a
target price for their final products. For example, buyers determine the selling
price for a new printing press should be $320,000. Next, they divide the press
into its subsystems and parts to estimate what each part is worth in relation to
the overall price. Using such a system, buyers might conclude that the maximum
price they could pay for a lead roller platen would be $125 and then use this