Negotiation: Sales Meets Procurement

Prof. Dr. Florian Kraus

Florian Kraus is Professor of Marketing, Dr. Werner Jackstädt Endowed Chair at the University of Mannheim, and Academic Director of the Mannheim Part-Time and Full-Time MBA Program at Mannheim Business School.

Professor Kraus' current research focuses on frontline employees' behavior and performance. He also conducts research on house brands, motivation, and organizational identification in the context of services marketing and sales management. 

Prior to joining the University of Mannheim he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Ruhr-University in Bochum. Florian Kraus obtained his Ph.D. from the Philipps University in Marburg and held a research position at the University of Houston, Texas, USA. He has substantial experience conducting marketing research with companies in the B2B sector as well as service firms.

Dr. Ingo Bayer

Dr. Ingo Bayer is Managing Director of the Faculty of Business Administration and Head of Finance at Mannheim Business School. He holds a Masters Degree and a PhD from the University of Mannheim and is a member of various professional bodies like the Committee d’Orientation Strategique Ecole de Management, Université Straßbourg. He has a wealth of experience in negotiating within and outside the university sector as well as consulting experience in various industries. He teaches negotiations particularly from a psychological and micro-political perspective and the effects on the negotiator on a personal level.

Prof. Dr. Christian Steiner

Prof. Dr. Christian Steiner is Professor of Economics at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and a Senior Advisor in the area of “Advanced Negotiations” at Kerkhoff Consulting – Part of Interpath. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and holds a master’s degree in Economics  from the University of Bonn. Previously, he was Head of Corporate Planning at Vodafone Germany and served as Customer Group Leader with overall responsibility for key accounts of Johnson & Johnson and L’Oréal Germany. At REWE Group, he managed strategic projects in Inhouse Consulting. He has industry experience in the consumer goods, retail and telecommunications sectors, complemented by activities in higher education, automotive and transmission networks. He has developed and implemented procurement and sales strategies with a total volume of more than €8 billion, including major infrastructure projects and new sales models in telecommunications.

Alexander Bergmann

Alexander Bergmann is Managing Director at Interpath which acquired Kerkhoff Consulting in 2025. As Head of Negotiations he is responsible for Interpath’s Advanced Negotiation practice. He has negotiated more than €40 billion across different sectors on both sides of the negotiating table (procurement & sales).

He and his team apply scientific insights from Game Theory, Auction Theory, Mechanism Design and Behavioral Economics to top negotiations of Interpath’s clients. Approaches vary depending on the competitive setting, all the way from competitive tenders to monopoly negotiations.