An important segment in marketing management in B2B markets is Organizational Buying Behaviour (OBB), especially in the context of purchase process management.
A common viewpoint is that, factors that are external to an organization influence the purchasing process. These external factors could include demanding nature of such players, like the private sector or other policy-related rules, such as government policies. Sometimes influences from pressure groups and other public sector players too affect the purchasing process.
However, there are harder and intangible factors which have greater influence over the purchasing process. This relates to the internal influences which work at diametrically opposite purposes.
External supply chain:
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Some Case Studies demonstrate the oversight and poor OBB practices influenced purchase processes.
Supplier-customer integration for efficiency building
(Frohlich and Westbrook, 2001) demonstrates the effects of supplier–customer integration on the performance of the organization. OBB purchase processing can become efficient with multi-pronged interactions.
Case study of AutoCorp
In the case of AutoCorp, a car assembly company which used refined silicon material AST, it worked great VFM through alternate and innovative contractual management with supplier. Against industry practices, it opted for a long term purchase plan since AST is known to have great demand among other electronic sectors, even as alternative goods and substitutes emerged. The company achieved commercial with the LTA agreement ensured that there was commercial interaction, technical interaction as well as logistical interaction.
II. Why OBB has to be Effective to Gain Good ‘Value –for- money’ from
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Stakeholders competing for advantage have changed in Supply Management ecosystem
Studies in supply chain management found competition intensifying among functional nodes of the organization to gain competitive advantage.
A common viewpoint is that competition among peers of any industry is tapering out slowly. In its place a new competitive metric is playing out. Functions within the organization itself are viewing each other competitively. They are battling to gain competitive advantage. The replacement of traditional practices, due to globalization, in the late 1990s, with digital process cycles have led to the structural evolution within the supply chain dynamics.
Hence a paradigm shift in OBB is required to gain from the supply chain competitive playfield. Studies have proved that organizational performance was edgier with better SCM
External influences cover a wide variety of factors, and their influence can differ between business types. These include the following:
While settling the cost of the item, the firm needs to concentrate the level of competition in the market. On the off chance that there is high rivalry, the costs might be kept low to viably confront the opposition, and if rivalry is low, the costs might be kept high.
To start, Schroeder, R., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham define supply chain as “the set of entities and relationships that cumulatively define materials and information flows both downstream toward the customer and upstream toward the very first supplier.” Schroeder, R., Goldstein, S., and Rungtusanatham goes on to identify supply chain management as “the design and management of seamless, value-added processes across organizational boundaries to meet the real needs of the end customer.” Organizations have to prepare themselves to the best of their ability in order to provide or their customers. Customers expect to receive the upmost service, regardless of the type of organization they make contact with.
The pricing process is dependent upon factors which can be categorized as internal and external factors. The internal factors include the factors that are within the control of the organization or the producer, whereas the external factors are influenced by the market or factors which are beyond the control of the producer.
B2B companies that sell extensive products, represent manufacturers and sell items at both physical locations and online have more complex inventory-management and ordering needs. Core back-office features usually update availability data but seldom manage complexities such as keeping the showroom stocked, answering customer questions about the supply chain and collating materials used in manufacturing or assembling products to take advantage of bulk ordering discounts and customizing or building products for customers. B2B companies can ignite sales by using product collaborators, but this often generates problems for the back-office staff such as pricing special orders, getting approvals from various stakeholders, ordering products and materials or locating new vendors.
The external factors can affect a firm’s position in the market. Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) explain the different external factors as: “market forces; industry forces; key trends, and macro-economic forces” (p. 201). Market forces identifies what is driving market demand at a local level as well as customer switching costs and demand pricing. Industry forces identifies new and existing competitors in the industry, substitute products, suppliers and vendors along the value chain, and community and environmental influences. Key trends identify new emerging
Competition is a fundamental factor in whichever industry. Hill and Jones (2007) note, “the power wielded by suppliers, the influence of the customers, and the threat posed by new and existing competitors determine the profitability levels in a company”. Besides, the forces support the decisions made by firms in order to improve their competitive position. In this regard, it is essential to review these forces either individually or as a combination to arrive at an informed decision on the industry choice. Further, it is fundamental to note that a force is either classified as strong or weak and, as a result, is a threat or opportunity respectively.
By thinking in terms of supply chains instead of individual operations or departments, CIOs can improve their competitive strategies. These strategies, in turn, change organizational operations, roles, and information systems. This article shows how such “supply chain thinking” works.
L. (2013). Performance benefits of harmonizing organizational strategy with strategy at supply chain level. Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 22(2), 581-586. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=95035238&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Typical external influences for instance, marketing attempts, price or socio cultural factors like family, social class, culture etc., form the inputs to the decision making process.
There are different types of factors that may affect your business. They are usually categorised in two ways; internal and external.
Supply change management (SCM) is active in many organizations today. The purpose of SCM is to maximize the company value in order maintain a competitive advantage in the market place. As an Operational Managers (OM) it is essential to oversee the supply chain within an organization. The OM responsibility is to manage the supply chain flow, and to ensure the supply chain has a quality design in order to reduce cost and drive efficiency. (Reid & Sanders, 2010) An organization supply chain includes activities such as product development, sourcing, productions, logistics, material, and other information systems needed to coordinate the movement of goods from suppliers to manufactures, and to final customers.
Many complex and more diverse decisions confront supply chain managers on a regular basis: what would be more efficient to manufacture in-house or to outsource; what new channels to implement that it would benefit their customers and suppliers, or how all new technologies, platforms, and practices have to be aligned to enable real-time supply chains. Current information technology reduced outsourcing transaction costs drastically, enabled companies to an increased supervision and control over offsite work, and outsourcing services can deliver faster and more convenient, but technology alone is not the solution. If a company decides to embrace changes in business processes and business culture, those changes can support a long way toward delivering a better product for less money. Complex sphere of activities in many countries is not relevant anymore because a massive number of activities outsourced became commonplace, a new normal.
“Knowledge of the process that organisational buyers follow in making purchasing decisions is fundamental to responsive business marketing strategy.”
In this essay we will be talking about the difference between consumer buyer behaviour and organisational buyer behaviour and how marketers can harvest this knowledge to create the right marketing strategies for each category of market.