Business and Government Customer Decision Making - Essay Example

Through the use of technology, the company shares the level of its material inventory with its current suppliers. These enable it to facilitate straight rebuy once its input goes below the optimum quantity. Aldi, the international retailer is also using a straight rebuy in replenishing its grocery shelves. It should be noted that the retailer has an extensive network of suppliers for its merchandise.

The company employs a Point of Sale system which tells suppliers when to deliver the needed goods. Modified Rebuy Modified rebuy happens when a business organization wants to purchase a component but would like to alter product specifications, prices, delivery requirements, or other terms (Widing 2002, p.155). As opposed to straight rebuy this buy class may consider new suppliers to provide its new needs. The company also gathers information in its quest of finding the appropriate supplier. Modified rebuy has been widely used to evaluate the current alternatives.

Companies might also be encouraged to switch suppliers in order to reduce costs. Blundstone Footwear has undertaken a modified rebuy for its product improvement. It can be recalled that the company has changed the specification of its soles from PVC to PSP. David Jones Limited has also made modified rebuy procurement. New Task New task is a result of a new need recognized by business entities. Thus, a new task is a buying situation in which a purchaser buys a product or service for the first time.

It should be noted that in this purchasing process, the information search is extensive. The final decision is often influenced by experts in the industry or products sought (Widing 2002, p.155). All business organizations in Australia have gone through this situation of identifying suppliers for their inputs. Recently fast food industry players have faced the challenge of modifying their menu in order to offer healthier alternatives. This necessitated the need for new ingredients to support the new menu.

Examples of these companies are McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. McDonald's was presented with the new task of identifying a supplier for its vegetarian burger. Kentucky Fried Chicken also faced this challenge when coming up with the supplier decision for its vegetable salad.