CRM in the Fast-Moving-Con- sumer-Goods Industry Henkel is a globally operating group of companies, offering a wide range of consumer goods extending from detergents, household cleaners, cosmetics, toiletries and adhesives. In Europe, Henkel has held a leading position for decades in the detergents and household cleaners market with brands such as Persil, Dixan, Vernel and Weier Riese. In the US it is represented with the Dial brand. In the hypercompetitive European retail markets, many of the large manufacturers such as Henkel, P&G, and Unilever have focused on improving and managing supply chain efficiency. Part of this ongoing activity is the concept of category manage- ment, where manufacturers and retailers collaborate to improve the profitability of the category at the store level. However, as an increas- ing number of firms are mastering the category management process, manufacturers like Henkel are looking how they can differentiate themselves further. This is where many of them have started to experiment with customer rela- tionship management practices. The environment in which these companies operate is characterized by branded products, low absolute margins on a per product basis, and lack of direct consumer contact. In line with the general CRM idea, the goal of a CRM approach would be to identify and target high value customers and to then to devise a retention or growth strategy for them. In practice, this means to allocate disproportionate resources to these customers. Whereas CRM is strongly established in direct to consumer environments such as banking or telecommunications, the exact nature of CRM in the FMCG environment is less clear. Therefore, the challenge that lies in front of firms like Henkel is to define, conceptualize, and implement a suitable CRM approach.