647CASE STUDY IV-6
The Challenges of Local System Design
for Multinationals: The MaxFli Sales
Force Automation System at BAT
Will all direct-distribution markets eventually use
MaxFli or a system like it? Yes. I believe yes, they
will. And why? Because there is an absolute need to
connect selling in and selling out together.
—Peter Brickley, Chief Information Officer, BAT
Globe HouseI have a very high view of MaxFli. [It] creates a sell-
ing process. It allows us to have a real competitive
advantage in the field. It’s really that... MaxFli
allows you to direct your promotion, all your market-
ing strategies to the right outlet at the right time. That
is why it gives us competitive advantage.
—Oscar Gonzalez, formerly at BAT Colombia,
transferred to Globe House in 2001Until today, there are some concerns [with MaxFli].
Why is that? The problem is the cost of MaxFli, and
it is not paying off. That is the big concern. Why not
use a more simple system to help us to sell? Selling
is our business. So we [should think about] stopping
the use of MaxFli.
—Juan Morales, a marketing executive in BAT
Central AmericaMaxFli was a business change initiative: a sales force
automation (SFA) system created to structure and auto-
mate the sales process within multiple locations around
the globe. However, after three implementations, the
success of MaxFli was in question.
Background: British American Tobacco
Founded in 1902, British American Tobacco (BAT) has
grown through organic growth and acquisitions to be one of
the top three global players in the tobacco industry. By 2002
it ranked number 271 in the FortuneGlobal 500 list of com-
panies. Prior to 1996, BAT Industries PLC had four tobacco
businesses among a number of unrelated business interests.
In 1996, this business strategy was revised to merge the four
independent tobacco businesses into one. Nontobacco
businesses (financial services, retailing, and others) were
divested, and BAT became a stand-alone business focused
only on tobacco. The company then merged in 1999 with
the global cigarette company Rothmans International. In
the fall of 2001 BAT’s local and international brands were
sold through five regional divisions: America Pacific, Asia
Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and AMESCA (Africa, the
Middle East, South and Central Asia). A sixth division,
STC (Smoking Tobacco and Cigars), is global and operates
in more than 120 countries.
The profit centers are 120 “end markets,” each typi-
cally a country. End-market directors (general managers)
report to regional directors, who are members of BAT’s top
executive board—the Tobacco Management Board (TMB).
The company’s strategy leverages global economies of
scale while offering autonomy to end markets.
In general, end markets either distribute the product
to retail outlets via their own trucks and sales force (direct
distribution) or use other distribution-for-fee service com-
panies. The direct distribution model is data- and resource-
intensive and is used by many end markets worldwide.
MaxFli was designed to facilitate the trade-marketing and
distribution activities within direct distribution markets.Birth of MaxFli in Latin America
The Origins of MaxFli
Several business and technical issues converged for the
creation of MaxFli. The rapid maturation of trade market-
ing and distribution (TM&D) within BAT markets hadCopyright © 2003 by Bradley C. Wheeler and Michael
L. Wiliams. This case was prepared by Bradley C. Wheeler and Michael
L. Williams at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. The
names and titles of some informants have been camouflaged as
requested. The authors would like to thank the IU CIBER office for
funding the research and the many BAT employees around the world
who participated in the research.