Exam 6: Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior

Business demand ultimately derives from the demand for consumer goods.

Worthington's Farm is an old poultry farm in Mount Prospect, Illinois. For years, it has used wooden coops to haul its poultry to the market. The owner of the farm needs to buy some replacement coops and is considering buying plastic coops that are slightly more expensive than wooden ones but much easier to clean after use. Consequently, the owner of Worthington's Farm ordered 100 customized coops from its regular supplier. This exemplifies ________.

The newer the buying task, and the more complex and costly the item, the lesser the amount of time the buyer will spend searching for suppliers.

Discuss the major influences on business buyers.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Alpha Stampings Inc. produces 14 metal stampings for the automotive industry. Due to industry design changes and consumer demands, for the next financial year, six of those stampings will require a slight change: two will have an extra hole punched through the side, two will require an extra plating process, and two will require an additional weld operation. In the meantime, the purchasing agent Richard Koehl has been asked to reduce the number of Alpha's steel suppliers in an effort to cut costs. After obtaining updated price quotations and steel samples from his current suppliers, Richard faced a dilemma. Until now, he had selected his suppliers based on quality and price, but the major consideration had been the type of steel required and the specialized production processes of his respective suppliers. Not all of Alpha's suppliers could produce the exact grades of steel needed; some suppliers were better at producing certain types of steel than others. Richard contacted several employees at Alpha who had worked with the various types of steel in the past. The quality control manager and line inspector, for example, could help to determine which suppliers had the capabilities of producing specific types of steel. The production control manager could provide input regarding which types of steel worked best in which presses. The warehouse foreman gave inputs regarding how long various types of steel could be held in inventory before rust spots began to form on their surfaces. Each person contributed the necessary information to help Richard in making his decision. -The management's directive to reduce the number of steel suppliers refers to the influence of ________ factors affecting the business buying behavior of Alpha.

How do influencers contribute to the purchase decision process?

In routine buying, the buyers are often the ________, or at least the approvers.

Which of the following is LEAST likely a characteristic of business-to-business e-procurement?

Marissa Hopkins, a hospital nurse, notices that the gurneys used in the hospital are not durable enough. She informed the hospital authorities about Grace Care Inc., a new company selling light-weight and durable gurneys. In this instance, Marissa played the role of a(n) ________.

Rudolf Technologies Inc. decided to enter the automobile service market. Consequently, it decided to procure the tools and machines required for servicing cars from a reputed supplier. Rudolf Technologies is facing ________.

Sage Hospitals, a not-for-profit organization, provides healthcare to the people in the Midwest. Management at Sage is involved in the ________ market.

Sam Doharty, a purchasing manager in Willard Groups of Companies, is currently working with engineers and consultants to define the items to be purchased. Additionally, Sam and his team are ranking the importance of reliability, durability, and price desired in the items. In other words, they are preparing a(n) ________.

During which of the following stages of the business buying process is a buyer most likely to conduct a value analysis by carefully studying components to determine if they can be redesigned, standardized, or made less expensively?

Pace Hardware uses Learningnow.com to improve sales force effectiveness and facilitate sharing of expertise. It allows Pace retailers to connect with each other for seeking managerial and marketing advice. It also allows Pace retailers to ask their suppliers about product usage, deliveries, and warranties, and send new-product information directly to the retailers. In this instance, Pace Hardware is facilitating communication through ________.

Buyers who face a ________ usually go through all stages of the buying process.

John Herr's company has standardized the size of its paper bags so that each bag can be used in five to seven different store departments. In the business buying process, this approach to cost reduction most likely took place in the ________ stage.

________ refer to members of the buying organization who will actually use the purchased product or service.

________ may help shape product specifications, but their major role is in selecting vendors and negotiating.

In which stage of the business buying process does a buyer ask users to rate their satisfaction with the supplied materials?

Sail Metalworks Inc. is currently looking for the best vendors of metal sheets. In other words, Sail Metalworks is ________.