Slide 1) Introduction
The buying centre is a Decision making unit. It is a unit of employees making decisions when involved in purchasing.
In contrast to consumer buying, buying decisions in a business setting are mostly made by a group of individuals, who share some common goals and the risks arising from the decisions. It consists of those people in the organizational who are involved directly or indirectly in the buying process, i.e. the user, buyer, influencer, decider and gatekeeper to who the role of ‘initiator’
Slide 2) Development
The employees that make up the buying centre will vary depending on the item being purchased.
The typical business buying centre will include a variety of participants. Firstly there are Initiators, these are people who start the purchase process by defining a need. The there are the decision makers: people who make the final decision. Following this, are the gatekeepers: people who control the flow of information and access to individuals in an organization. Then the influencers: people who have input into the purchase decision and the purchasing agent: the person who actually makes the purchase order. Lastly are the controllers: the person who oversees the budget for the purchase and the users: people who use the product or service.
At Mater Hospital, needs arise from just about anywhere within the organization. TheBuying Center concept shows that Initiators are the first organizational members torecognize a need. In most situations the Initiator is also the User or Buyer. Users are inclined to identify the need for new solutions (i.e., new drugs) while buyers are more likely to identify the need to re-purchase products.
The Amount of participants varies. Sometimes, buying centres are formal committees created to make a purchase decision, but more often they are defined by organizational relationships. Depending on an organization’s
References: The buying centre concept: http://american-business.org/115-buying-center-concept.html Mater Hospital: http://www.materkenya.com/