1
Case 13
Intermec
Case Objectives
1) To demonstrate the importance of intermediaries in generating demand for the products
manufacturers make.
Problem Situation
Pat Byrne, the CEO of Intermec, believes his company may be at a critical juncture. Byrne is
looking at Intermec’s distribution network closely to determine what changes might be needed to
increase Intermec revenue and counter deep discounts by its competitors like Motorola. In
Teaching Suggestions
In general, students usually have much less experience with companies dealing with business-to–
business (B2B) marketing than consumer marketing (B2C). In most universities, the majority of
the marketing curriculum tends to focus more on consumer marketing than business marketing.
Case Discussion
This case provides a forum for examining the role of intermediaries in a high-tech, business-to–
2
business environment. As students may know, the B2B industry includes both the manufacturers
and the intermediaries needed to market their products. A discussion of this case should include:
• Suspected causes for Intermec’s rapid drop in revenue
Causes for the drop in revenue are shown on page 581 and relate to environmental shifts. For
example, the global slowdown (economic factor) is considered to be one reason for the decrease
As the case outlines, Intermec markets its products through three main channels:
• Direct sales using Intermec sales force that primarily targets larger, key customers. This
generates about 30% of its sales and provides Intermec the means to closely control
marketing to key customers.
From here students may be asked to breakdown the various types of intermediary categories
(resellers, integrators, and independent software vendors) and list the tasks each performs. One
of the points the text routinely makes is that in general, intermediaries are conpensated for the
work they do. If students can identify the various tasks and services each category of