The managerial issues associated with global account management

Abstract

The increase in cooperative global arrangements between suppliers and customers has grown precipitously in the last five years. These global account management (GAM) strategies frequently are brought about due to the initiative of the global customer, requiring the customer's supplier to manage their total global needs. In other cases, suppliers perceive GAM as a means to develop long‐term relationships with key global customers and at the same time hinder competitive inroads. The managerial considerations in implementing and managing GAM teams are the focus of this article. A step‐by‐step process for management to follow when implementing a GAM program is also discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.