• Systems Buying and Selling

• Systems Buying and Selling

Many business buyers prefer to buy a packaged solution to a problem from a systems buying

single seller. Called systems buying, this practice began with government buying Buying a packaged

of powerful weapons and communication systems. Instead of buying and putting solution to a problem

all the components together, the government asked for bids from suppliers that and without all the

would supply the components and assemble the paekage or system. separate decisions

Hellers have increasingly recognized that buyers like this method and have involved.

adopted systems selling as a marketing tool,''Systems selling is a two­step process. First, the supplier sells a group of interlocking products: for example, the supplier sells not only glue, but also applicators and dryers. Second, the supplier sells a system of production, inventory control, distribution and other services to meet the buyer's need for a smooth­running operation.

Systems selling is a key business marketing strategy for winning and holding accounts. The contract often goes to the firm that provides the most complete system meeting the customer's needs. Consider the following:

The Indonesian government requested bids to build a cement factory" near Jakarta. An American firm's proposal included choosing the site, designing

the cement factory, hiring the construction crews, assembling the materials and equipment and turning the finished factory over to the Indonesian government. A Japanese firm's proposal included all of these services, plus hiring and training workers to run the factory, exporting the cement through their trading companies and using the cement to build some needed roads and new office buildings in Jakarta. Although the Japanese firm's proposal cost more, it won the contract. Clearly the Japanese viewed the problem not as one of just building a cement factory (the narrow view of systems selling) but of running it in a way that would contribute to the country's economy. They took the broadest view of the

buying centre

customers' needs. This is true systems selling.

All the individuals and units that participate in the business buy ing­

Who Participates in the Business Buying Process?

decision process. Who buys the goods and services needed by business oganizations? The decision­

users making unit of a buying organization is called its buying centre, defined as all the Members of the

individuals and units that participate in the business decision­making process. 10 organization who •will

The buying centre includes all members of the organization who play any of use the product or

five roles in the purchase decision process. 11

service; users often initiate the buying

proposal and help define

1. Users. Members of the organization who will use the product or sendee. In product specifications.

many cases, users initiate the buying proposal and help define product specifications.

Business Buyer Behaviour • 28S

influencers

l­'eople in an organizations buying centre Wio affect the

2. Iirfluencers. People who affect the buying decision. They often help define buying decision; they specifications arid also provide information for evaluating alternatives.

often help define Technical personnel are particularly Important influencers.

specifications and also

3. Buyers. People with formal authority to select the supplier and arrange provide information for terms of purchase. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but they

evaluating alternatives play their most important role in selecting vendors and in negotiating. In

buyers

more complex purchases, buyers might include high­level officers People in an participating in the negotiations. organization's buying

4. Deciders. People who have formal or informal power to select or approve the final centre with formal suppliers. In routine buying, the buyers are often the deciders or at least the

authority to select the approvers.

supplier and arrange

5. Gatekeepers. People who control the flow of information to others. For terms of purchase. example, purchasing agents often have authority to prevent salespersons

deciders from seeing users or deciders. Other gatekeepers include technical personnel

People in the and even personal secretaries.

organization's buying centre tcfeo have formal

The buying centre is not a fixed and formally identified unit within the buying or informal powers to organization. It is a set of buying roles assumed by different people for different

select or approve the purchases. Within the organization, the size and make­up of the buying centre

final sHp will vary for different products and for different buying situations. For some routine purchases, one person ­ say, a purchasing agent ­ may assume all the

gatekeepers buying centre roles and serve as the only person involved in the buying decision.

People in the organization's buying

For more complex purchases, the buying centre may include 20 or 30 people from centre wh(^ control the different levels and departments in the organization. One study of business flow of information to

buying showed that the typical business equipment purchase involved seven others. people from three management levels representing four different departments.

286 • Chapter 7 Business Markets and Business Buyer Bchavinur

Thc buying­centre concept presents a significant marketing challenge. The business marketer must learn who participates in the decision, each participant's relative influence and what evaluation criteria each decision participant uses. Consider

the following example:

Baxter sells disposable surgical gowns to hospitals. It tries to identify die hospital personnel involved in this buying decision. They turn out to be the purchasing manager, the operating room administrator and thc s

surgeons. Baeh participant plays a different role. The vice­president of purchasing analyzes whether the hospital should buy disposable gowns or

reusable gowns. If analysis favours disposable gowns, then the operating room administrator compares competing products and prices and makes

a choice. This administrator considers the gown's absorbency, antiseptic quality, design and cost, and normally buys the brand that meets requirements at the lowest cost. Finally, surgeons affect the decision later by reporting their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the brand.

The buying centre usually includes some obvious participants svho are involved formally in the buying decision. For example, the decision to buy a corporate jet will probably involve the company's chief pilot, a purchasing agent, some legal staff, a member of top management and others formally charged with the buying decision. It may also involve less obvious, informal participants, some of whom may actually make or strongly affect the buying decision. Sometimes, even the people in the buying centre are not aware of all the buying participants. For example, the decision about which corporate jet to buy may actually be made by a corporate board member who has an interest in flying and knows a lot about aircraft. This board member may work behind the scenes to sway the decision. Many business buying decisions result from the complex interactions of ever­ changing buying­ccntre participants.