Quest Foods Asia Pacific and the CRM Initiative

Quest Foods International is one of the world's largest manufacturers of fragrances, flavors and textures for the food, beverage and consumer products industries. Quest Foods' regional vice-president is in the process of implementing a business process re-engineering project for the company. His current efforts focus on developing an information technology-based customer relationship management (CRM) system that he believes could give the company a sustainable competitive advantage with customers in the region and throughout the world. His ultimate goal is to bring Quest to the next phase of e-business. Despite high ambitions, his initiatives are making little headway. Internal opposition to change is significant and some key customers are growing concerned that Quest's CRM plans might miss the mark. Faced with considerable time and resource pressures, he is wondering how to set priorities and where to focus his energies.