Many companies are now able to report this, at least on an estimated basis. Having this information:

• provides a clear understanding of which customers are high or low-value and which must be retained;

• enables fast decision making, a prerequisite for global account management;

• provides better information to assist in commercial negotiations with customers;

• increases clarity on 'cost of sale' and 'cost to serve' issues;

• highlights differences in profit margin across geographies for the same account;

• highlights the economic value of certain business locations / routes;

• assists in evaluating economic value of particular products or services;

• provides an input to the personal performance measurement of account managers and teams.