When a group of persons designated purchase place or English Buying center of a company or an organization, which is involved in a purchase decision. This group consists thereby mostly of representatives of different departments and functions to optimize with the goal, the result of the decision by common knowledge and experience.

For example centers of members of the specialized division can belong, which is to use the purchased product, to technicians, who are responsible for the support, employees from the range finances/Controlling, which are awake over the financing of the costs, as well as expert from the purchase department to a Buying, which bring in legal knowledge over contracts which can be locked.

The following roles (persons with mandate) within a Buying center can be differentiated among other things:

• User (user), e.g. Production coworker/leader, user
• Buyers (Buyer), catch up offers and judge these, e.g. Purchase coworker/line
• Beeinflusser (Influencer), affects the decision-making process, sets standards, e.g. Advisor, designer
• Entscheider (Decider), decides finally, mostly management, attorney, decision maker.

Here a person also several roles can einnehemen and a role can by several persons be represented.

The following functions (persons, who act autonomously) can be differentiated in addition:

• Initiator, energizes the new purchase
• Coach, external often advisory function, with very close contact to a coworker
• Infoselektierer (Gatekeeper), passes information on or holds back these.

The roles in the Buying center can be assigned to their working after also the different phases of the procurement, see following table:

The three most important questions concerning the Buying center are:

• Which decision criteria are the most important for the individual
• Which weight has the individual role for the final
• How do the roles behave in conflict situations and which situations are

Since members of the Buying center can pursue incompatible Absichtet, a view of the group dynamics is helpful, in order to be able to organize a purposeful procedure. Possibilities, with such conflicts of dealing are:

Tendentious it can be stated that the Buying center decisions become more complex and/or more intensive, if it concerns e.g. a new supplier or a new product ("“new task"” in accordance with Webster/wind), if the product with high investments or risk for the own enterprise is connected or if key positions are personnel again occupied.

On salesman side in contrast to it a Selling center is often used, whose members can make all necessary information available about the product.

see also: Capital goods marketing,

Literature

• Webster, Frederick E. /Wind, Yoram: Organizational Buyinf Behaviour, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1972
• Alois: Market segmenting with capital goods, Wiesbaden 1977

Articles in category "Buying center"

We found here 11 articles.

Related Websites

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• ADXS.com Media Buying Center
  Media buying center where you can directly purchase internet, print, radio, tv or outdoor advertising.


• Buying center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  In some cases the buying center is an informal ad hoc group, ... The employees that constitute the buying center will vary depending on the item being ...


• Marketing Terms Dictionary - American Marketing Association - www ...
  buying center. - The group of individuals that consists of all organizational members who are involved in any way, to any extent, in any phase of a specific ...


• Marketing Terms Dictionary - American Marketing Association - www ...
  The influence of one individual member of the buying center on an other is the change in behavioral and/ or psychological states of other buying center ...


• Marketing Terms Dictionary - American Marketing Association - www ...
  The influence of one individual member of the buying center on an other is the change in behavioral and/ or psychological states of other buying center ...