There are three common types of buying situations in industrial market, which are discussed as follows:
1. New Purchase
The industrial buyers buy the item for the first time in this situation. The need for a new purchase may be due to internal or external factors. For example, when a firm decides to diversify into new purchase situations the buyers have limited knowledge and lack of previous experience. Therefore, they have to obtain a variety of information about the product, the suppliers, the prices and so on. The risks are more, decisions may take longer time, and more people are involved in decision making in the new purchase decisions.
2. Change in Supplier
This situation occurs when the organisation is not satisfied with the performance of the existing suppliers, or the need arises for cost reduction or quality improvement. The change in supplier may also be necessary if technical people in the buying organization ask for changes in the product specification, or marketing department asks for redesigning the product to gain some competitive advantage. As a result, search for information about alternative sources of supply becomes necessary. Even though, certain attributes or factors can be used to evaluate the suppliers. There may be uncertainty regarding the supplier who can best meet the needs of the buying firm. Therefore, the modified re-buy situation occurs mostly when the buying firms are not satisfied with the performance of the existing suppliers.
3. Repeat Purchase
If the buying organization requires certain products or services continuously and products/services had been purchased in the past then the situation of repeat purchase occurs. In such a situation, the buying organisation reorders/places repeat orders with the suppliers who are currently supplying such items. This means that the product, the price, the delivery period, and the payment terms remain the same in the reorder, as per the original purchase order. This is a routine decision with low risk and less information needs, taken by a junior executive in the purchase department. Generally, the buying firms do not change the existing suppliers if their performance is satisfactory.