This diploma thesis analyzes the current state of company´s purchasing strategy. In the introduction is described the company and its production program, followed by theoretical part of the thesis. The suggestion part deals with the application of the issue to the practical example as well as the calculation of savings as a result of the purchasing strategy change over.

The thesis documents the changes in Italian public opinion towards the Euro. Its aim is to assess the relevance of economic factors for the decline in Italian support for the common currency. The thesis begins by assessing the extent to which support for the Euro has declined in Italy. While there has been popular, media and political comment on this issue, the thesis investigates the changes in attitude through the use of survey material and concludes that there is compelling evidence that public support for the Euro has declined in Italy. The thesis adopts a utilitarian/rational choice approach in order to investigate the reasoning behind the Italian public's developing relationship with the single currency from 1998 to the present. Its central question is: How have economic factors impacted on the Italian public's support for the Euro? The analysis focuses on Italians' perceptions - not their actual knowledge - of national and individual level economic changes brought about by the single currency. The thesis investigates how such perceptions have impacted Italian popular support for the Euro over the period 1998-2007. The method employed in this thesis is primarily based around analysing quantitative data gathered from Standard and Flash Eurobarometers. Other sources considered are academic literature and newspaper articles. The analysis clearly suggests that Italians' optimism towards their national and personal economic situations have all decreased since the Euro was introduced, concurrently with their diminishing support for the Euro. This work suggests that the main reason for decreased support lies in Italian perceptions that the Euro has contributed to worsening economic situations at both the national and individual levels. In particular, Italians believe the Euro has spurred inflation and diminished their purchasing power, and accuse it of failing to promote economic growth and jobs. However, Eurobarometer data combined with newspaper articles indicate that it is the perceived economic consequences at the individual level - loss of purchasing power due to Euro-related price increases, and pessimism towards their household financial situation - that more strongly determine Italians' decreasing support for the Euro.

Christmas is generally described as cultural, ritual and sociological phenomena of devotion, community and consumption. The topic of this dissertation concerns a specific stream of research within the general domain of consumer behaviour. The focal objective of this study is to develop a model and generate theory about parental gift giving behaviour at Christmas. My study is unique because it attempts to model parental gift giving at Christmas in a consumer behaviour context. Consumer behaviour theory suggests that parents seek information about possible gifts, set selection criteria for gift purchase, evaluate alternatives and buy the gifts for their children. Following this broad view of theory, parents respond to children's request behaviour, evaluate the suitability of any requests and purchase the approved or appropriate items as Christmas gifts. Children are encouraged to request any gifts that they desire, and these gift requests are often for specific brands. In general Christmas gifts are selected from children's products and brands and there is extensive debate and research relating to television advertising and children's request behaviour at Christmas. However, parents are not exposed to the same sources of advertising as their children and there is little evidence of research into the very important topics concerning motives, strategies, evaluations and the giving of brands that characterize parents' Christmas gift giving to their children. The significance of this dissertation resides in the development and presentation of a comprehensive model for the conceptualisation of parental gift giving at Christmas, based on antecedents to parents' social roles of gift giving and direct and indirect behavioural outcomes of those gift giving roles. Measures for each of these outcomes are developed and gender effects are also explored. The sample frame was described as a parent with at least one child between the ages of 3-8 years and a survey package was delivered to parents of children from participating schools and kindergartens. There were 2560 surveys distributed, with 450 individual responses representing a return rate of 17.6%. The 450 cases available for analysis were factor analysed and formed into composite and latent variables to facilitate statistical analysis via Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression, which is an appropriate procedure when the relationships are unknown or theoretical. The results of the research have two distinct streams. The first stream relates to the creation and validation of measurement constructs for the concept of Christmas spirit, parental gift giving, request communication, brand benefits and use of information sources, as well as involvement in giving gifts and involvement in giving brands as gifts. The second stream relates to the relationships between variables; the results support the relationships antecedent to the parents' social roles of gift giving. There is a significant relationship of Christmas spirit with involvement in giving gifts and with parental gift giving roles. A significant relationship also exists between involvement in giving gifts and parental gift giving roles. However, there is limited support for propositions related to outcomes of parental gift giving roles where there are significant relations between these roles and Christmas request communication, brand benefits and information sources. There is also a significant, indirect relationship between brand benefits and involvement in giving brands as gifts. As part of the second stream, gender differences were examined; the results show that mothers' Christmas spirit has no effect on their gift giving roles and gift giving roles have no significant effect on request communication and information source usage. On the other hand, the results show that the fathers' gift giving activities reflect the relationships outlined in the parental model. The study has academic implications for sociology and consumer behaviour disciplines and commercial implications for manufacturers, advertisers, brand owners and retailers. Further investigations will be necessary to incorporate other elements into the parental gift-giving model and to extend the theory toward a fuller understanding of the parental Christmas gift giving phenomena.

<p>This study aims to give an overview on young Chinese consumers’ car purchase behavior. The results show that car purchasing decision is an important decision for most of Chinese. Consumers get information from different channels. The results of this study also tells us that Chinese consumers take “safety” as the most important characteristic and take “value for money” as the second most important and “riding comfort” as the third important characteristic. Chinese consumers take “after-sale maintenance” and “exterior design/size” as the forth most important factors when making the purchase decision. For “exterior design/size”, it indicates that Chinese people are status-seeking and Chinese people prefer to choose a bigger car with a good appearance (Mian Zi Che) to show their good social status and want to get respects from others. Chinese consumers put the least importance on resale value that is because second hand car market is not well developed in China.</p>

<p><strong>Purpose</strong></p><p>As Sweden is one of the countries who pays a lot of attention towards the sustainability ofthe society, eco green businesses and also promotes environmental friendly products. So thepurpose of this study is to analyze the factors which influence consumers before choosingany electricity supplier, whether it is low price, better services, environmental friendly oravailability. And in this way we can check finally that how much people concern aboutenvironment and environmental friendly products.</p><p><strong>Methodology</strong></p><p>We have defined the procedure through which we did this research; mainly focus on thequantitative research which we get from questionnaires from different people belong todifferent groups to analyze the different factors that influence the consumer’s choice. Wealso included literature review and conceptual frame work of academic work to providemore depth to the readers about the subject. Besides that the data collection and theory ofresearch is presented in this part.</p><p><strong>Finding and Analysis</strong></p><p>Finally, we presented analysis through using the adopted model on consumer decisionprocess and green marketing strategies for competitive advantage and the findings that weget through questionnaire.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>The factors which affect the consumer choice on choosing electricity supplier in Sweden aremajorly influenced by low prices followed by social responsibility, services andenvironmental friendly.</p>

<p>Background: The strategic importance of purchasing departments is increasing, yet supply risks are rather uncharted. The procurement of coffee involves supply risks and the purchaser needs to be able to handle these to enable the roasting-house to produce coffee as specified. </p><p>Purpose: To chart risks in connection with the procurement of coffee as well as the possibilities of handling these. The thesis also examines if general risk management theories are applicable on the supply risk present within Swedish roasting-houses and can become an integral partof the purchasing process. </p><p>Method: A qualitative case study of the purchasing process of Swedish roasting- houses. </p><p>Result: An a priori-model, which can serve as the basis for evaluation of the purchasing process and risk management of a business, elaborated to fit the Swedish roasting business.</p>

<p>Background: Beauty is a subject which is not easy to grasp especially as it is perceived differently. In advertising it is expressed through aesthetic messages and images which we relate to symbolic and social meanings. The professional hair care industry in Sweden serves as a good example where the creation of aesthetic experience influences consumer purchasing behaviour.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of our thesis is to study how consumers´ subjective view on beauty and aesthetics can be influenced by the professional hair care industry and how a market is created for products which mainly satisfy emotional needs rather than fulfil utilitarian function.</p><p>Research Method: In our study we have applied an abductive research method approach. The empirical findings were based on 3 interviews with P&G Salon Professional representatives and 15 end consumers combined with a survey, conducted in 25 hair salons in the city of Linköping.</p><p>Conclusion: Consumers act in a socially constructed world in which products are shaped around impulse and feeling rather than their rationality. When buying a professional hair care product people receive much more than the actual product itself. People improve not only physical appearance but they also feel beautiful from within. While the utilitarian function is basically the same in both professional hair care and retail products, the former contributes to higher degree of satisfaction.</p>

<p>This Master’s thesis was commissioned by Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery,subdivision Industrial Gas Turbines (PGI4) in Finspong, Sweden, and in Lincoln, England. The company has been part of Siemens Power Generation Industrial Applications since its</p><p>acquisition in 2003. In this connection, the strategic importance of procurement became more recognised and the procurement organisation has undergone many changes. Procurement, however, is a function very much affected by changes in the business context,making constant adaptations and transformations necessary. In order to ensure that the procurement organisations in Finspong and Lincoln are well</p><p>prepared for future challenges, the purchasing director at Siemens PGI4 asked us to investigate competency requirements on procurement beyond the year 2010, based on the impact of macroeconomic trends. Furthermore, a gap analysis was requested in order to compare the current competency level with the required future competency level.</p><p>The task was approached by studying literature and interviewing well-known purchasing professors. From this we concluded that the macroeconomic trends of greatest relevance for Siemens PGI4 are globalisation, outsourcing, development of information technology,</p><p>increasing demands on corporate social responsibility and changing consumer patterns.</p><p>Our investigation of the impact of these trends on procurement resulted in several requirements for the future. For example, risks must be managed throughout the whole supply chain, as the complexity of supply increases as a result of globalisation and outsourcing. The requirements are presented in terms of competencies and roles that need to be assumed. We mapped the current competency level by means of questionnaires filled in by the personnel concerned. We then compared this with the required future level. The gap analysis indicated that gaps within management of relations, for example, exist for several of the studied function profiles and that today’s way of handling risks will not be sufficient in the future. Still, the majority of the competency gaps are not very large. We believe</p><p>therefore that by taking care of the existing gaps and installing a supply chain risk management team, the procurement function can live up to the future requirements until the year 2010. We recommend the identified crucial roles and competencies to be taken into consideration when recruiting new employees and when developing existing personnel. However, continuous review and update of competencies will be needed in order to keep the company competitive.</p>

<p>Detta arbete är skrivet för inköpsavdelningen på enheten PGI4, representerat på Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery i Finspång (SIT), med målet att reducera kostnader genom ett förbättrat arbete med Cash Management. Då inköpt material utgör en så pass stor del av värdet på slutprodukten, nära 60 procent, inses genast vilket stort inflytande inköpsfunktionen har på företagets totala kostnader. Även om Cash Management ägnas störst fokus hos företag med likviditetsproblem, finns det mycket att vinna genom att arbeta aktivt med konceptet också i goda tider.</p><p>Därmed är syftet med arbetet att; ”analysera möjligheterna för inköpsavdelningen på Siemens PGI4 att utnyttja Cash Management för att reducera de totala kostnaderna”.</p><p>Längs arbetets gång har en totalkostnadsmodell tagits fram för att tydliggöra kostnaderna relaterade till inköp, och därefter har områden specifikt intressanta ur ett Cash Management-perspektiv identifierats. Utgående från dessa områden har undersökts hur dagens verksamhet ser ut på SIT samt hur andra företag hanterar liknande aktiviteter. På så vis har lösningarna tagits fram angående vad inköp på SIT bör arbeta annorlunda med, samt hur de kan nå förbättringar.</p><p>Genom tydligare riktlinjer för standardkontrakt, ekonomistyrning och villkor för transporter och prognostisering kan arbetssätt inom inköp förbättras. Ett utnyttjande av kassarabatter kan ge kostnadsbesparingar motsvarande 1% av köpesumman. Rekommendationer kopplade till orderprocessen och fakturering syftar till att undvika de årliga kostnaderna på 2,4 miljoner SEK och 300 000 SEK för tidiga leveranser respektive räntefakturor. Ett utnyttjande av inköparnas kompetens inom lagerstyrning, kan resultera i sänkningar av lagernivåer genom att styra lager per leverantör.</p>

According to Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard (1993), evaluative criteria is defined as "the standards and specifications used by consumers to compare different products and brands" (p.51). Many studies have investigated factors that might influence the importance of clothing evaluative criteria used by consumers in the decision making process. However, few studies have been directed to examine the relationship between consumers' shopping motivations and their use of clothing evaluative criteria. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of consumers' shopping orientations on the importance placed on the clothing evaluative criteria. Hedonic and utilitarian shopper dichotomy was applied in this study. Self-administered questionnaires which included four sections of questions were used for data collection. The four sections, with 7-point Likert scales, asked about respondents' clothing evaluative criteria used in general and specific purchase context, shopping values, and demographic information. The data were collected at Oregon State University in summer 2005. A convenience sample of 452 students from nine departments was obtained. The frequency and descriptive statistics, cross tabulation and chi-square statistics, Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation, and Pearson Correlation were used to analyze the data. Respondents were classified into hedonic shoppers, utilitarian shoppers, or neutral shoppers, who were dropped in comparison analysis. Results indicated that hedonic shoppers were more likely to be female and younger than were the utilitarian shoppers. Hedonic shoppers were found to be more engaged in un-planned clothing purchases, go clothing shopping more frequently, and spend more money on clothing each month then utilitarian shoppers. Moreover, hedonic shoppers more often went clothing shopping in department stores, closed malls and specialty stores than did the utilitarian shoppers. Principal Components Factor Analysis was conducted to classified clothing evaluative criteria used in both general and specific purchase situations, and new variables were generated for Pearson Correlation Analysis. Results of Pearson Correlation analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that hedonic shopping value was positively and significantly related to "Aesthetics" and "Symbolic" dimensions of clothing, which supported the first hypothesis. However, utilitarian shopping value was not found to have positive and stronger relationship with "Performance" and "Economic" dimensions of clothing than hedonic shopping value, thus, the second hypothesis was not supported. Apparel manufacturers, retailers, and marketers can draw implications from the study result to develop more effective marketing communication mix. Also, consumer behavior researchers can further investigate hedonic shopping behavior based on the research findings. / Graduation date: 2006