An instinctive answer to this question might be another question: Why will there be a preference?
And yet, there is. As our respondents explain in some detail, there is a world of difference between how institutional buyers and FM service providers approach the machine procurement process. Priorities, budgeting, desired outcomes – everything is different.
In the last issue of Clean India Journal, we learned that some facilities are choosing to acquire machines themselves, rather than ask the service provider to do so. With this, they can spread the machine cost over years, and still switch service providers in the middle. Has this increased the number of institutional buyers?
Institutional buyers budget for the year. Service providers budget according to the site. How does this influence spending capacities and promptness in payment?
Industrial clients know exactly what they need a cleaning machine for; this may not be the case with other direct buyers. On the other hand, no one understands the exact applications of a cleaning machine better than a service provider. How does this difference in knowledge impact the procurement process?
To find the answers to all these questions and more, read on.
1) ‘Consultative sales to direct buyers makes us partners’