11. Breaking Ground in Services Purchasing

Lisa M. Ellram, Miami University

This case was prepared for classroom discussion purposes only. It is based on a real scenario. Some of the data and verbiage from conversations have been modified to enrich classroom discussion.

Background

Gensin is a global, FORTUNE 100 company in the pharmaceutical industry. It experienced considerable growth due to both acquisitions and successful new product introductions. While its decentralized model had been successful in many regards, it was also very expensive to operate. In addition, Gensin had a desire to have a stronger presence with its customers. A decentralized model did not easily allow Gensin to put “one face forward” to the customer. Thus, Gensin was ...

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