B2B Marketing

Aims of the course

This course presents an integrative view of B2B marketing and supply chain management. The course is designed to give knowledge and skills relevant to (marketing) manager in a global supply chain. Therefore our main objective is to provide a deeper understanding of the issues that encompass the nature and scope of a global supply chain management and B2B marketing. First part of the course is devoted to understanding of B2B markets, customers, relationships and networks. We will look at B2B market analysis and marketing strategy development with a particular focus on managing marketing processes and product offerings. We will develop a framework for defining the strategic objectives of a firm and for integrating those objectives into the design and development process for products and processes. We learn the contemporary approach to defining, designing, and developing new products or services and processes. Our discussion will encompass the use of architectures to define the technical structures of products, and in particular the use of modular architectures as the foundation of new product design and development processes and strategies. Furthermore we will gain an insight into the peculiarities of B2B marketing and service design through a real-life case study presentation and the group work assignment.

Last but not least, we will learn from the experience of others through several real-life case studies brought by representatives of innovative companies operating on B2B markets and pursuing modularity and creating value through innovation and design.
The second part of the course is about effective supply chain management, which is one of the key determinants of success in such a global environment and it has become the focus of attention of senior management in the industry today. This part of the course considers management of a supply chain in a global environment from a managerial perspective. The focus is on analysis, management and improvement of global supply chain processes. After the first module that introduces the key concepts related to asset management in supply chains, the course is divided into four related modules, namely, Coordination and Collaboration, Configuration, Customization and Commonality and Context and Change. Several important developments including Sustainability, Emerging Economies, Prognostic Supply Chains, Build-to-Order, Collaborative Forecasting, Delayed Differentiation, Outsourcing and Off-shoring, Total Visibility and RFID Technology will be discussed. The course will focus on both traditional supply chain concepts and how they need to be adapted in a global context. Analytical and simulation approaches utilized in industry will also be introduced.

Course syllabus

FIRST PART: B2B marketing and design management

Session 1
Overview of the course and assignments
Meeting for the group work assignment: case study Fonda

Session 2
Course introduction
Introduction to B2B marketing
Introduction to World of High Technology Marketing
B2B environment and organizational behavior

Guest speaker: B2B marketing and entrepreneurial motivation
Defining the business strategy framework to be served by product (service) design
The essential elements of a Business Unit Strategy
How design “connects” to a firm’s strategy
Putting business unit strategy in dynamic contexts:

Session 3
Understanding firms as customers
B2B marketing analysis and strategy
• Business-to-Business Marketing Strategy
• Researching Business-to-Business Markets

The architectural approach to product and process design
What is an architecture? What makes designs modular? Using modular design in relation to market strategies
The fundamentals of the modular architecture design and development process

Session 4
Business Market Segmentation
Managing marketing processes
• Routes to Market
• Price-Setting in Business-to-Business Markets

Planning for a design project: team composition, phases, budgeting and time planning
How to write and use a good design brief
Service Design

Session 5
High-tech B2B marketing and innovations
Managing market offerings, product Offerings and new offering realization
Some key aspects of B2B product marketing:
• Strategic modularity
• Outsourcing
• Global product strategy

Guest speaker: B2B marketing in a Slovenian multinational firm

Session 6
Relationship marketing and business networks
Sustaining reseller partnerships
Managing customers
• Market Communication
• Relationship Communication
• Relationship Portfolios and Key Account Management
Negotiation role play: Ugli Orange Case

Presentations of group projects

SECOND PART: Global Supply chain management

Sessions 1 and 2
Introduction to Global Supply Chain Operations
Supply chain competencies
Inventory requirements and planning
Supply chain re-engineering
Challenges related to managing global supply chains
HBS simulation

Session 3
Global Supply Chain simulation
Supply chain configuration
Factors influencing a firm’s decision to enter new markets
Streamlining an existing global footprint of facilities

Session 4
Coordination and Collaboration
Trends related to offshoring and outsourcing India’s growth in context and the challenges /opportunities this presents to the rest of the world
Outsourcing strategies
Buyback and revenue sharing


Session 5
Commonality and Customization
Standardization strategies that enable firms to offer maximum customization
Innovation by leveraging global supply chains to create unique customized experience for customers worldwide

Session 6 and 7
Context and Change - Global supply chains' adaptation to the contextual setting through constant change
Sustainability game
Risk management pitfalls and opportunities in the context of global supply chain management
Comparison of the path of India and China within the context of developing a strategy around global supply chains
Future challenges in global supply chain management

Course director(s)