CGAM: Competence Center for Global Account Management
Research Institute for International Management (FIM-HSG)
University of St.Gallen
Dufourstrasse 40a
CH-9000 St. Gallen / Switzerland
+41 71 224 24 71
www.fim.unisg.ch
CGAM Roundtable:
David Meets Goliath – How SME’s Deal with Global Customers
Thursday, October 23, 2014, Executive Campus, University of St.Gallen / Switzerland
Facilitated by Christoph Senn, CGAM Director and Arnd Niehausmeier, CGAM Research Associate
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
19:30 – 22:00
Optional Dinner (Restaurant “Neubad”, St.Gallen / Old-Town Section)
Thursday, October 23, 2014
08:30 – 09:00
Individual Arrival, Coffee
09:00 – 09:30
Session 1: Mastering the Global Customer Business is a Multi-Year Journey
Welcome, introduction and ground rules. Participants introduce themselves and their organizations. Christoph Senn
and Arnd Niehausmeier will frame the problem, highlight key benefits and dilemmas associated with Global Account
Management (GAM) for Small & Midsized Enterprises (SME’s) and describe the current state of research.
09:30 – 10:00
Session 2: Peer-Benchmarking and Issue Prioritization
Based on pre-meeting preparations, participants will define their current position in the GAM journey, followed by a
collection of issues SME’s are facing when dealing with global customers. Building on the priorities of the roundtable
participants, a number of “Cross-Industry Issue Groups” will be formed to ensure a stimulating experience exchange.
10:00 – 10:30
Break, Networking Time
10:30 – 12:30
Session 3: Challenges and Solutions for Dealing with Global Customers
A discussion of how SME’s can overcome specific challenges and successfully deal with global customers will be
opened by 1-2 attendee examples for each group and facilitated by CGAM. Building on participants’ experiences,
the groups then share proven solutions and future ideas to solve the identified challenges from an SME perspective.
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch, Networking Time
13:30 – 14:30
Session 4: SME’s and Global Customers – How to Make it Really Work
This session will feature again real-life experiences and offer participants the opportunity to put their ideas to the
test via an exclusive peer-to-peer discussion. Depending on the situation, 1-2 peer examples of successful SME GAM
activities will be presented and discussed in more detail to further enhance the take-home value.
14:30 – 15:00
Break, Networking Time
15:00 – 15:45
Session 5: Winning Global Business against Goliath Competitors (Panel)
Globally active SME’s meet not only “Goliath”-type customers, but often also experience competition from larger
competitors. This session will allow participants to put experiences and ideas into the context of their market reality
and explore additional ideas to further sharpen their GAM approach.
15:45 – 16:00
Summary and conclusions, next steps
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Location addresses
Roundtable venue
Executive Campus University of St.Gallen
Room 14-032/34
Holzstrasse 15b
CH-9010 St. Gallen / Switzerland
+41 71 224 20 12
[email protected]
www.fim.unisg.ch
Optional dinner venue
Restaurant “Neubad”
Bankgasse 6
CH-9000 St. Gallen / Switzerland
+41 71 222 86 83
www.restaurant-neubad.ch
How you can reach us
Registration information
The event including dinner on the night before is free of charge for CGAM Corporate Partners as well as
CGAM Advisory Board Members. To ensure diversity, max. 2 people from the same firm are allowed to
participate. Total attendance is capped at 20 people (not including CGAM staff).
Non-CGAM members are invited to attend for a fee of CHF 490.- which includes full roundtable
documentation, lunch buffet and coffee breaks during the day and dinner on the evening prior to the
event. Travel arrangements and hotel accommodations have to be settled by all participants individually.
For registration and further assistance please contact us at: [email protected].
Confirmation of registration will follow upon receipt of registration form (or payment where applicable).
Cancellation Policy: Full refund until four weeks before the meeting. CHF 150.- administration fee up to
two weeks before the event. No refund after two weeks before the event. Confirmed registrants who fail
to attend and do not cancel prior to the meeting will be charged the entire registration fee.
St.Gallen University / CGAM reserve the right to change the program and event arrangements without
prior notice.
For information about how your firm can join the CGAM corporate partner community,
please contact us at [email protected] or +41 (0)71 224 24 71.
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