RTM: Why don’t you start by outlining why HP undertook this global initiative to change the way you manage relationships with partners?

PJ:  HP’s goal is to be the preferred supplier for its retail and supplies channels.  That means the one these guys want to buy from first.  More than that, we want them to see HP as a linchpin relationship, one they can trust and rely on.

There was a general feeling that many account managers had to spend a lot of time on administration and dealing with the relatively minor problems that crop up regularly in any business relationship.  Also, different regions were managing accounts in different ways.  This made it very difficult to compare our relationships or to talk about them.

We wanted to encourage account managers to build deeper relationships, to identify opportunities to develop more and better business.  We felt we needed to move to a model where partner account managers were having the right conversations with partners about how to unlock potential.  And we wanted this to be consistent around the world. 

We also wanted a model that could be applied to all kinds of partners, whether retailers or business-to-business distributors.

RTM:  It sounds like a tall order.  It is almost idealistic!

PJ: Perhaps.  Is it possible to overestimate the importance of relations with intermediaries to HP?  I don’t think so!  I guess we also felt that account management of partners is a career and a function which was rather ignored inside HP.  Areas like product management traditionally had more kudos.  We wanted to build worldwide excellence in this area.

RTM: At the start of the project, you actually went out and asked retailers what they wanted and how they saw the future, didn’t you?

PJ: Yes. VIA International interviewed 40 retail accounts worldwide on what they wanted.  Many of the retailers felt that retail was becoming much more global, and that there were shifts in global consumer expectations, spending patterns, attitudes and behaviours.

"What can we do to sell more, using HP and the account’s assets?"

Many were looking for a much closer strategic relationship with their key vendors.  They wanted more input, more interaction.  They wanted to go beyond the traditional and antagonistic buy/sell relationship.