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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, BANGALORE
POST GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MANAGEMENT (PGP)
Open to a limited number of PGSEM Participants
Course Outline: Business-to-Business Market Management (B2BMM) (Elective)
PGP Quarter-4, 2011
Class Room: To be finalised
Session Days: Fridays and Saturdays, Time: To be finalised
Faculty: D. V. R. Seshadri (dvrs@iimb.ernet.in)
Office Location: E-203, IIMB
Meeting: By Appointment (via email)
Dated: 1st March 2011 (Version 1.0)
[Subject to minor changes]
A. Course Objectives
1. Develop a good understanding of the concepts and frameworks of business-tobusiness market management (also referred to as B2B Marketing or business
marketing).
2. Develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business
market management.
3. Gain a first-hand understanding of working relationships within and between firms in
business markets.
B. Course Description
Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing encompasses those management activities that
enable a supplier firm to understand, create, and deliver value to other businesses,
governments, and / or institutional customers. In the context of these business markets,
value is ‘the worth in monetary terms of the economic, technical, service and social
benefits a customer firm receives in exchange for the price it pays for a market offering.’
There are four guiding principles of B2B Marketing:

Make value the cornerstone

Focus on business market processes

Stress doing business across borders

Accentuate working relationships and business networks
This course is designed to provide students with a good understanding of the concepts of
B2B market management. It helps them develop critical analysis and problem-solving
abilities with respect to business market management.
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Target audience for the course
The course is open to all PGP 2nd year participants, as well as limited number (up to 15)
of PGSEM 2nd and 3rd year participants.
Some Important Guidelines
1. The utility of the course to the participant will depend largely on the ability of the
participant to closely follow the readings and invest the required time to prepare for the
sessions. It is expected that participants will have read the specified material prior to
each session.
2. The material presented in the prescribed textbook will not be covered through
instructor’s lectures in the class. It is expected that all participants will read the
specified chapter(s) of the textbook BEFORE the session, prior to embarking on
case preparation.
3. Regularity in attending the sessions, preparing for the sessions before the class,
and active participation in the learning experience are vital.
4. This is a demanding course and only participants seriously desirous of enhancing
their knowledge of marketing in general and business market management in
particular are advised to take this course.
5. I expect the participants to be punctual to the class. Latecomers please excuse!!
6. Good Luck and Wishing you an Enjoyable LEARNING EXPERIENCE!
C. Pedagogy
The case method will be the primary pedagogy.
D. Evaluation
1. Class Participation: Case Preparation and Discussion
The first component will be related to regularity in attending the classes, case preparation
and discussion as well as general constructive class participation.
Each student must be prepared to thoroughly discuss each case and actively participate in
the case discussions in class, based on the assigned case and readings for the day. This
demonstrated ability is a significant though not sole determinant of each participant’s
grade for the class participation. Prior preparation is a commitment made by each
participant to himself and to the class. Hence anyone in the class may be called upon to
contribute insights during the case discussion.
The points awarded for class participation will be based on regularity of attendance to all
the classes and meaningful participation in all the case discussions.
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.
The total weight for the case discussion and related class participation will be 100 course
points, of the total 1000 points for the course.
Each session is worth up to 5 points. You will earn those points as follows:



You will automatically receive 2 ½ points for attending each session. Hence if
you attend all sessions you will receive 50 points.
Those who miss the session will get no points for that session.
Additionally, you can earn up to 2 ½ points per session for consistent outstanding
contribution of insights during the classes / case discussions. This translates to a
maximum of 50 points.
Remember, quality of class participation, rather than simply quantity or ‘air time’ used up
will determine the points allotted for this segment of evaluation.
2. Quizzes
An important component of the evaluation will be quizzes. There will be three in-class
quizzes during the course, each of which will carry equal weight of 300 points. Best two
of these will be chosen.
They could essentially consist of short questions, which will require brief answers. The
questions will be drawn from the chapters of the prescribed textbook, various concepts
discussed in the class and the articles in the course pack. Alternately the quizzes could be
analysis of short management cases. The quizzes seek to assess each participant’s
learning and mastery of important concepts covered in the course.
NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES WILL BE ADMINISTERED under any circumstances. The
quizzes will be pre-announced.
Please note that mastery of all of the course material is essential to do well in the
quizzes.
3. Group project
There will be one project (group), which will carry 300 points. This will involve choosing
a company that is an exemplar of B2B Market Management from the Indian context
(could be either an Indian company or an MNC with operations in India), and providing
insightful analysis about what makes the company so special. This project write-up must
relate these insights to established principles discussed during the course and/or those
embedded in the course pack. It will require considerable background work by
participants through secondary and/or primary research. It will need minimum 10 hours
of work per participant to do a good job on this component of course evaluation. The size
of each group will be maximum of four participants. No negotiation on these aspects
please!
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In summary, the total of 1000 points will be allocated as follows:
Component
1.
2.
3.
Points
Class participation
Best Two out of Three Quizzes, each 250 points
Group project
100 (Individual)
600 (Individual)
300 (Group)
--------1000
--------Your final grades will depend on consistent and superior performance in the class against
the above components as well as your performance relative to other students in your
class. Note that each of these components will be relative graded, and based on the above
weights, the final grade for the course will also be evolved again based on relative
grading, to ensure compliance to the PGP/PGSEM norms for grades.
IMPORTANT
Each participant is required to bring to every class his / her name board that will be
conspicuously displayed for the instructor / teaching assistant to clearly see. Also make
sure you bring the relevant course material for each class.
Cases and other course material: You may obtain a pack containing the cases and other
course material from PGP/PGSEM Office during the week prior to the commencement of
classes for the Quarter.
Text book for the course and other course material
Text: James C. Anderson, James A. Narus, Das Narayandas and. D V. R. Seshadri,
Business Market Management: Understanding, Creating and Delivering Value, 3 rd
Edition, Pearson (India) Education, Low Priced Edition, 2011. You may obtain your
personal copy of the book from PGP/PGSEM Office/Book Shop (as appropriate) during
the week prior to start of the course.
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Session Plan
Note: This session plan is tentative and is subject to change before commencement
of the course
Session #,
Week #
Day
Topic(s) / Concept(s)
A&N
Chapter #
Case Name
1.
Week-1
1. Introduction and Course Overview
2. Business Market Management:
Guiding Principles
Caselet # 1:
Automobile Fleet Marketing
1
-
Remarks
(Note: The
sessions in
which
Quizzes will
be
conducted
are only
tentative
and subject
to change)
-
Market Sensing
2
-
-
Market Sensing
2
Case # 1:
Rohm & Haas
-
Market Sensing
2
Case # 2:
Kunst 1600
-
Friday
2.
Week-1
Saturday
3.
Week-2
Caselet # 2:
Zeus Laser Technologies
Friday
4.
Week-2
Saturday
5.
Week-3
(Note: Kunst 3500, the
case for the session on
Friday 2nd July, will be
handed over in class)
Case: # 3:
Kunst 3500
Market Sensing
2
Understanding Firms as Customers
3
-
Caselet # 3:
Purchasing a Computer
Component
Understanding Firms as Customers
Case # 4:
Bose Corporation: The
JIT II Program (A)
3
Case # 5:
Cumberland Metal
Industries
Quiz-I
-
Friday
6.
Week-3
Saturday
7.
Week-4
Friday,
6
8.
Week-4
Understanding Firms as Customers
3
Case # 6:
Croon and Oce
(Role-Play case. Case
will be handed over in
due course, during
Week-3. Please complete
the role-play before the
class. The session # 8
will only provide a
debriefing of the case.)
Case # 7:
Value Chain Migration
at Infosys: Case (A)
-
Crafting Market Strategy
4
Managing Market Offerings
5
Case # 8:
Microsoft Corporation:
The Design of Microsoft
Support Network 1.0
-
Gaining Customers
8
Quiz-II
Sustaining Customer Relationships
10
Case # 9:
Infosys® Technologies
Ltd.: Growing Share of
a Customer’s Business
Application of Value-based
Marketing in Software Industry
Gaining Customers
2,3
-
Sustaining Customer Relationships
10
Key Account Management
10
Case # 10:
CMR Enterprises
Read Note: “Note on
Customer Management,”
by Das Narayandas
Case # 11:
Zucamor S.A.: Global
Competition in
Argentina
Sustaining Customer Relationships
10
-
Business Channel Management
7
Sustaining Reseller Partnerships
9
Case # 12:
Reinventing Marketing
at Tata Steel
Case # 13:
Tata Steel Drive on
Institutional Sales
Case # 14:
Retail Business
Transformation at Tata
Steel
Market Sensing
2
Quiz-III
Crafting Market Strategy
4
Case # 15: Bucking the
Trend: A Look at Zyme
Solutions’ Non-Linear
Business Model
New Offerings Realisation
6
Market Sensing
2
Case # 16:
Mahindra & Mahindra:
-
Saturday
9.
Week-5
-
Friday
10.
Week-5
Saturday
11.
Week-6
Caselet # 4:
What’s on your Business’ Menu?
Friday
12.
Week-6
8
Saturday
13.
Week-7
Friday
14.
Week-7
Saturday
15.
Week-8
Friday
16.
Week-8
Saturday
17.
Week-9
-
-
7
Crafting Market Strategy
4
New Offerings Realisation
6
Business Channel Management
8
Sustaining Reseller Partnerships
10
Caselet # 5:
Regency Sign Corporation
Sustaining Reseller Partnerships
Creating Scorpio
Friday
18.
Week-9
Case # 17:
WESCO
-
9
Case # 18:
Aurolab
-
Crafting Market Strategy
4
-
New Offerings Realisation
6
Case # 19:
SolutionisingTM Strategy
by Ingersoll-Rand India
Ltd., (IR) Air Solutions
Group, India
Saturday
19.
Week-10
Friday
20.
Week-10
Saturday
Caselet #6:
Bachan Distilleries Ltd.
Course Wrap-up
Feedback
Last date for submission of group project is on last day of course.
No requests for extending the deadline, please!
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Faculty Profile:
SESHADRI D. V. R.
Adjunct Faculty, IIM Bangalore (Marketing Area)
Phone: 080-2699 3260 (o), E-mail: dvrs@iimb.ernet.in
D.V.R. Seshadri is an Adjunct Faculty at Indian Institute of Management (IIM),
Bangalore. His areas of interest are: Business-to-business Marketing, Corporate
Entrepreneurship and Strategy. He holds a B. Tech. (Mechanical Engineering) from IIT,
Madras (1978), M.S. (Engineering Sciences) from University of California, San Diego
and a Fellow title (Doctorate) from IIM Ahmedabad, with specialization in Production
and Quantitative Methods. He has over 15 years of industrial experience prior to joining
academics since 2000.
Over the last ten years, he has developed a number of case studies and
authored a number of research papers in his areas of interest. He has coauthored three books: ‘Innovation Management,’ with Prof. Shlomo Maital
published by Sage India in 2007; ‘Global Risk / Global Opportunity,’ co-authored
with Prof. Shlomo Maital, published by Sage India, in June 2010; and Indian
adaptation of the book, Business Market Management (B2B): Understanding,
Creating and Delivering Value, with James Anderson, James Narus and Das
Narayandas, published by Pearson Publishing, in June 2010.
He teaches extensively in the various programs at IIMB in his areas of interest
and at IIM Ahmedabad in the one year executive MBA program. He also teaches
extensively in various Executive Development Programs at IIM Bangalore. He
works closely with several companies, providing them training / consulting
services in his areas of expertise. He is a highly rated teacher and trainer.