How manufacturers value purchase offerings: An exploratory study

Abstract The notion of value and the principles and methods that buyers use to discover which supplier offering has more value needs to drive all business marketing activity. However, the concept of value and how to measure it is somewhat vague. The authors present a simple way to think about value. The research reports an exploratory empirical study of how the valuation model fits the views of purchasing managers and how purchasing agents view value and use it to make decisions. In general, the model posited appears to fit the view of purchasing agents, however, there is some digression and further research is needed.