1-What is value fot customer like Kimura?

A customer like Kimura KK has a well-defined strategy. Mr.Kimura

expected that the Pramtex Technologies would help his firm achieving
its objectives,doubling the company sales over the next 3 years.
Therefore, Kimura value building strong working relationships.
Although, Mr.Kimura indicated to John that Pramtex had the best and
most technologically advanced equipment in the market, to
customers like Kimura KK, technology was not everything. These
customers emphasize many other elements taht have to be taken into
account. For instance:

Getting the equipment (ikipment)on time is essential

(such customers value the suppliers ability to meet their
obligations since they also need to win the confidence of their
own customers- such as Disney).
Quality
Price (there were competitors who made a cheaper offer. As it
was said by mr.Hashimoto, Kimura KK didnt need the so-called
Rolls Royce of the turnkey dvd production system,perhaps a
simple Toyota corolla was what they actually needed. Pramtex
should have not ignored its customers needs, since they didnt
need a sophisticated system.
Machines which are easier and cheaper to service and
maintain ( If there was an urgente problema, Kimura KKs
technicians would solve it easily. Kimura kK was one of the
major independente optical disk manufacturerers in Japan. A
customer like Kimura KK appreciates working with professional
suppliers, who can actually give an adequate answer to
anything that may happen.
Some customers want a red-carpet treatment (They
really want to feel respected and special. If they dont get the
so-called Red-carpet treatment, they may be displeased and it
could be easy for them to start thinking in other possibilities.

Functional service customer; the best technology; not to complex;

quality;
Emotional good relations with the other company; trust; respect;
arrive on time;
Financial - didnt fulfill the deadline; double the sales; price;
maintenance costs; total cost of ownership;

2-Who are the key platers at Kimura in the purchasing

decision? What are their respective rules and interests?
The key players are:
Dr.
Nomura
(Scientist
,
R&D
Advisor)
The strongest supporter of Pramtex and he was also a close
friend of Max (the key man behind the development of the
Spartacus). Despite of being friend of Max, Dr.Nomura was very
impressive with the sophistication of Pramtexs system.
Mr.Nomura had convinced Mr.Kimura to place a first order for 3
Spartacus machines. He is an influencer, since(sins) he supplied
information for the evaluation of this specific alternative. In
terms of interest, on one hand , he wanted to bring a little more
sophistication to Kimura, but on other hand, he wanted to help
Max, who expected to establish a stronger position in the
Japanese market and to use Kimura as a reference to get more
business
from
the
largest
companies.
Influencer : supply information for the evaluation of alternatives
or sets buying specifications.

Mr. Kimura (President of Kimura)

The presidente of kimura and he had to listen to all sides. He is
the decider , the person who actually makes the buying
decision. His main interest was to make the best decision to
Kimuras needs, since within his company they were regarded
as easier and cheaper to service and maintain. He was hiping
that pre-recorded DVDs would become incoreasingly importante
in terms of sales- counting on the purchased system.
Decider: those who actually make the buying decision, whether
or not they have the formal authority to do so.

Mr.Hashimoto
(Finance
Director)
The only thing he understood in Kimura was numbers , he knew
very little about technology. Once he understood numbers, he
assessed all of the competitors offers (in terms of price and
delivery times/deadlines) and he was able to influence
Mr.Kimura in the final decision since he supplied prices
information. Form him, technology was not everything and he
wanted to take into account many other elements, which may
positively influence the final decision and Kimura KKs
performance in the long run. He is an influencer and he is also
an analyzer.

Influencer : supply information for the evaluation of alternatives

or sets buying specifications.
Analyzer: Assesses information and alternatives

Dr.Komoda
(Chief
of
Production)
Dr.Komoda had determined the technical specifications he
needed for the Spartacus for a planned output of over 15 000
DVDs per day. He insisted that it was critical for him to receive
the first three Spartacus machines no later than the last week of
july, since he wanted to have enough time to test the brandnew machines before embarking on a major DVD Project for
Disney. So his main interest was to produce the DVDs in
timeframe. He may also have been influencer , since he had to
report the problems he had with one of the three Spartacus
machines.

Player

Function

Interests

Buying Center

Mr.Kimur
a

President
Kimura,
President
association

of

Grow company

Decider

daf

Lead industries

Hashimo
to

Financial Director
(dairector)

Total
Costs
Revenues
Lowest cost

Buyer
Analyzer

Nomura

Senior
Advisor

Best
technology
Best
Performance

Influencer

Komoda

Chief
(tchif)
Production

Performance of
Machines

Influencer
Analyzer
Buyer

Yamashit
a
Kimura
Senior
?

Assistent

Recognition

Gatekeepers

Founder

Success

Machine
Operations

User-friendly

R&D

of

Analyzer- anlizer buyer-bier decider-dicid

user

Power
Resourc
es
Status
Reward
(riward)
Coercive
Attractio
n
Reward
Coercive
Status
Expert

Coercive
Expert
Attractio
n
Attractio
n

3-Why did Pramtex fall in Japan what could/should it have

done diferente?
Pramtex was not able to build a strong working relationship with
Kimura KK.
Porque falhou?

Premium Prices
Although its a small player in the industry, Pramtex was able to
charge premium prices thanks to its advanced Technologies and
its appeal to customer engineers. However, Kimura didnt want
these advanced techonologies.
Technology was not everything
Mr. Kimura had recognized that Pramtex had the best and most
technologically equipment in the market,however, as
Mr.Hashimoto said technology was not everything and the firm
was taking into account other elements.
Technical specifications
Dr. Max Scorse was only concerned with the sophistication of
the Spartacus machines. He forgot the real needs of Pramtexs
customer and he did not pay attention to the technical
specifications list that John handed him. Once it seemed
impossible to talk to Dr. Max Scorse, John should have
Dr.Shariff, the President of Pramtex, about this , since Dr.Max
Scorse
was
only
making.
Service Support Level

The Service Support Level maintained by the company was less

than satisfactory. It seems to believe that a superior product is
sufficient
for
it
to
maintain
market
leadership.

Did not have significant physical presence in the country

Local competitors had the advantage of quicker response in
case
of
breakdowns
,
better
warehouse
access.

The service support level maintained by the company

was
less
than
satisfactory
It seems to believe that a superior product is suficiente for it to
maintain market leadership.

Phase 1 : January 12th to May 10th Getting the first order

He is not looking for benefits each player wants
Not concerned about delivery
Forgets
Phase 2: August 9th to 20th- Delivering the first order
Nothing happens from May to August?
Finding Max Scorse
Call by Dr.Komoda with request for support
Phase 3 : October 17th to December 22nd Losing the second order
4-Can this customer be saved?
Short-term : Possibly not
Nothing much can be done in the short-term in terms of improved
customer-support in the short-term, which is the primary concern of
the Kimura.
Mid-to-long-term: Yes
They will have to be convinced of the companys commitment to the
Japanese market. This assurance should be backed by concrete
actions such as getting physical presence in the country in the form of
service centres and warehouses for spares inventory.
Also, the company must customize its product to suit the needs of the
customer.