客户盈利能力分析中英文外文翻译文献Word下载.docx

1、 Raaij E M V, Vernooij M J A, Triest S V. The implementation of customer profitability analysis: A case studyJ. Industrial Marketing Management, 2003, 32（7）:573-583.英文原文 The implementation of customer profitability analysis: A case studyRaaij E M V, Vernooij M J A, Triest S VAbstractBy using custome

2、r profitability analysis （CPA）, firms can determine the profit contribution of customer segments and/or individual customers. This article presents an approach for the implementation of CPA. The implementation process is illustrated using a case study of a firm producing and selling professional cle

3、aning products. The case study highlights specific issues related to CPA in an industrial setting,and the results provide examples of the possible benefits of implementing a process of regular CPA.D 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.Keywords: Customer profitability; Customer relationshi

4、p management （CRM）; Implementation; Case study1. IntroductionWithin any given customer base, there will be differences in the revenues customers generate for the firm and in the costs the firm has to incur to secure those revenues. While most firms will know the customer revenues, many firms are una

5、ware of all costs associated with customer relationships. In general, product costs will be known for each customer, but sales and marketing, service, and support costs are mostly treated as overhead. Customer profitability analysis （CPA） refers to the allocation of revenues and costs to customer se

6、gments or individual customers, such that the profitability of those segments and/or individual customers can be calculated.The impetus for the increasing attention for CPA is twofold. First, the rise of activity-based costing （ABC） in the 1990s led to an increased understanding of the varying exten

7、t to which the manufacturing of different products used a firms resources （Cooper & Kaplan, 1991; Foster &Gupta, 1994）. When using ABC, firms first identify cost pools: categories of activities performed within the organization（e.g., procurement）.Second, information technology makes it possible to r

8、ecord and analyze more customer data both in type and in amount. As data such as number of orders, number of sales visits, number of service calls, etc. are stored at the level of the individual customer, it becomes possible to actually calculate customer profitability.It is considered good industri

9、al marketing practice to build and nurture profitable relationships with customers. To be able to do this, a firm should know how current customer relationships differ in profitability, as well as what customer segments offer higher potential for future profitable customer relationships.2. The poten

10、tial benefits of CPAThe direct benefits of CPA lie in the insight it provides in the uneven distribution of costs and revenues over customers. The information on the spread of costs among customers will be valuable in particular, as the distribution of revenues will generally be known to the firm. T

11、his insight in the extent to which specific customers consume the firms resources generates new opportunities for the firm in three areas: cost management, revenue management, and strategic marketing management.First, CPA uncovers opportunities for targeted cost management and profit improvement pro

12、grams. Published figures show examples where 20% of customers generate 225% of profits （Cooper & Kaplan, 1991）, where more than half of the customers is unprofitable （Storbacka, 1997）or where the loss on a customer can be as high as 2.5 times sales revenue （Niraj, Gupta, & Narasimhan, 2001）. CPA, as

13、 a specific application of ABC, reveals the links between activities and resource consumption, and it therefore points directly to profit opportunities （Cooper & Kaplan, 1991）. Second, CPA provides a basis for well-informed pricing decisions, bonus plans, and discounts to customers. It shows why fil

14、ling some orders cost more than others and enables firms to have their prices reflect those differences （Shapiro et al., 1987）.The analysis outcomes may also help in revising existing discounting structures to improve profitability （cf. Kalafatis & Denton, 2000）.Third, CPA opens up possibilities for

15、 segmentation and targeting strategies based on cost and profitability profiles. Some companies have segmented their customer base in platinum, gold, iron, and lead customers, based on their contributions to profits.These potential benefits of CPA are frequently cited in the literature. Yet the issu

16、es arising in actually implementing CPA are seldom discussed. In the next section, an overall approach for the implementation of CPA is presented.3. An overall approach for implementing CPAThe actual calculation of customer profitability amounts to an extensive ABC exercise. To make CPA really usefu

17、l, the implementation should go further than drawing up a customer profitability model and plugging data into it, as the value of the analysis is in the actions based on better informed decision-making. Therefore, a six-step approach to implementing CPA is suggested. This approach, outlined in Fig.

18、1, provides a directive for a team consisting of at least a marketer and a management accountant. Depending on the characteristics of the firm and its information systems, the team can also include operations managers and information specialists.The sixth and final step deals with establishing the n

19、ecessary infrastructure for the continued use of CPA. Embedding CPA in the daily routines of sales and marketing and accounting may well necessitate changes in procedures（e.g., marketing planning）, changes in responsibilities, and changes in systems （e.g., information systems）. The next section pres

20、ents the application of this six-step approach in a business-to-business setting.4. The implementation of CPA in an industrial cleaning firmThe case organization is one of the national sales offices of a multinational firm that engages in the development, production, sales, and marketing of professi

21、onal cleaning products （chemicals, cleaning systems, and consumables）.Among the firms main markets are industrial laundry, office cleaning, hotel cleaning, kitchen hygiene, and personal hygiene. Its products are sold directly （to large end-users such as in-flight caterers and to service integrators

22、such as professional cleaners）, as well as through distributors. The firm has divided its market into market sectors based on the nature of the end-user （e.g., healthcare, lodging, or dairy）.As with many industrial firms, this firm employs a considerable sales and service force. The sales force is r

23、esponsible for the initiation, maintenance, and development of customer relationships. The service force is responsible for order processing, customer training, advice, product demonstrations, maintenance, and repair.Procedures are also part of the infrastructure. To improve the accuracy of future c

24、ustomer profitability figures, the sales managers and account managers were requested to start registering the duration of their customer visits. In the absence of such a registration in the first round of analysis, sales costs were allocated to customers as a percentage of revenues. The willingness

25、 of the sales force to record their time spent for customers was high, as they understood the importance of this information for accurate analyses of customer profitability. 5. Learning from CPAThe exercise described above was this firms first experience with CPA. As Ward and Ryals （2001） suggest, t

26、he most effective approach for attaining accurate valuations of customer relationships is an iterative approach in which a customer profitability model is progressively implemented in the organization. This means that, with each cycle, the model is to be improved until the calculations are sufficien

27、tly accurate for marketing purposes. For this firm, the first improvement for the next iteration concerns the registration of sales force hours to allocate sales costs more accurately. It has further decided to repeat the CPA exercise every 6 months and implement improvements along the way. For the

28、firm, the exercise has sparked learning on three different levels: On the first, and most basic level, the firm has learned what each customers last year contribution has been to the firms operating income and how this information can be used for cost management, revenue management, and marketing ma

29、nagement. Second, the firm is learning how revenues and costs are best allocated to individual customers. The first attempt described in this article is only the start of a continuous improvement of such allocation methods. And third, the firm is learning what the various factors are that determine

30、the value of each individual customer （customer profitability being but one of those factors）. 6. DiscussionThere are a few things you should know about CPA users. First, CPA numbers are constructed from multiple data sources. The accuracy of these data sources limits the possible accuracy of custom

31、er profitability figures. In addition, the CPA model must be a good representation of actual processing.The CPA exercise reported here is a retrospective analysis, which is an example of an analysis of past revenues and costs incurred by customers in a particular cycle. Managers will also be interes

32、ted in prospective customer profit analysis. The quasi-CPA calculates the net present value of the future expected costs and revenues associated with serving the customer throughout his future life. The Quasi-Accountant Office is also known as the customer lifetime value analysis.To be able to estimate future costs and benefits, and the analysis of customer profitability is a valuable, if not necessary, first step.7. ConclusionIn this case, a six-step approach to implementing CPA within the company. Costs and revenue should be allocated to the only active customer, whic