Question

Please read the following section and answer the questions that follow:

Katie is a forklift operator who is tired of her forklift breaking down. She points out to her boss,the plant supervisor, that her forklift is broken down at least 20 percent of the time, and it is beginning to impact production. The plant supervisor tells the purchasing agent that a new forklift is needed and asks the purchasing agent to get three bids on new ones with similar features. The purchasing agent calls three companies and gets bids, which the plant supervisor uses to narrow it down to two. He then has Katie test drive the two and since she liked the Yamamatsu best, he decides to purchase that one.

Now, based on your understanding of the buying process from Chapter 5, answer the following questions:

1. What roles do the supervisor and Katie play in this firm’s buying center?

2. Does the process followed resemble the process outlined in the chapter?

3. If yes, how so? If not, why not?

Please write your answer in the box that appears after clicking the tab 'Write submission' next to the section titled 'Text submission'. Please be brief; your answer should be written in clear and concise language (a maximum of 100 words).

https://opentext.wsu.edu/marketing/chapter/6-stages-in-the-b2b-buying-process-and-b2b-buying-situations/

Chapter 5.

Answer 1

The supervisor and Katie play the role of buying center as the decision of the purchase is taken by both of them on the basis of their best efforts and experience.

The buying decision was the great initiative taken. When the problem was made aware to the boss, immediate action was taken to eliminate the negative impact on production by taking the decision to buy a new forklift. The requirement of the employee was fulfilled in the situation. And the buying decision was also the cost effective by choosing amongst three options and the quality was also checked by riding the same.