Handbook of Strategic Account Management: A Comprehensive Resource

Strategic account management processes at corporate, relationship and annual level

by Jukka Ojasalo

Abstract

This paper, based on literature analysis, aims to map and develop a framework of the processes central to strategic account management (SAM). So far, the literature on various SAM processes is fragmented and the big picture is lacking, so there is a clear need to structure this area further. This paper responds to this need by identifying three levels of SAM processes – corporate-, relationship- and annual-level SAM – by structuring the processes central to SAM at these levels into a framework and by discussing the nature of these processes. The theoretical implications are first, it identifies three relevant management levels of SAM as well as the main processes of these levels. Second its three-level framework contributes by showing how the different SAM processes are hierarchically subordinated to each other. Third, the framework shows the time spans of process cycles for different processes: some of them are longer and one-time processes, others are shorter and frequently repeated.

The practical implications emerging from the study are first, the proposed framework shows the hierarchical order in which these processes have to be tackled if the company is interested in introducing a systematic SAM approach in its organization. Second, as the framework maps the relevant SAM processes at different management levels and shows their hierarchical organization, it also shows ...