Eaton Corporation
Eaton Corporation (www.eaton.com) is a diversified industrial manufacturer with a range of products from car valves to circuit breakers. The company operates primarily in the US and Europe. Its headquarters are in Cleveland, Ohio and it employs 59,000 people. Eaton operates through four business divisions: automotive, electrical, fluid power and truck, but it is facing stiff competition across its market segments. As the US market makes up two-thirds of its total revenues one of Eaton's future tasks is to focus more on non-US growth markets.
Questions
1. What are Eaton's key challenges in establishing long-term relationships with its new global OEM customers?
2. Why is the fast-changing marketing environment so crucial to Eaton's international marketing plan?
3. What makes Eaton's channel management challenging? Why does the company continue to sell through multiple global channels?