About WESCO

Founded in 1992 as the distribution arm of Westinghouse

It is an Electrical Equipment Supplies (EES) distributor

As of 1996, a 2.2 billion $ company with an EBIT of 3%

Goal is to become a 3 billion $ company by 2000 with an EBIT of

over 5%

The idea is to provide greater value to customers while improving

on market position and profitability
Wesco - The Selling Story
NAM Sales Organization
• 18 National Account Managers

• 10-15 customers + 15-20 prospects for each NAM

• Calling the prospects, selling, implementation with new NA customers and maintaining existing
relationships

• Meet the purchasing staff, build relationship with the plant, channel between sales reps and local
plant personnel

• Received commissions according to the sales to their customers

• Branch sales rep also received similar commissions based on sales

• Choosing a NAM is difficult as the position required strong technical and relationship management
skills

• In short, NAMs were in great demand and so crucial to the success of NA accounts program
 National Accounts Program - Results
• Started in 1994 in order to generate higher revenues for the company

• As of mid-1997, it has not given expected sales and profits that will meet the goals

Problems Faced
• Corporate interests were different from the interest of the local plant (less co-operation)

• NA customers demand more - Frequent calls, meetings, Integrated supply chain solutions

• Failure to take NA customers to maintenance phase will end in high costs and low margins

• Need for realignment of business process which may not be liked by traditional customers
Recommendations
Organization structure/Culture change?

 Separate sales reps to service NA and Electrical contractor customers

Key Learning from the case

Relationships are very important in B2B

Thank You