Canadian Packaging Machinery Market Research Report - PMMI

5. Key Factors in Purchase Decisions:
Factor Ranking
(1 = Most Important)
Service & Technical Support – In Canada 1
Price 2
Service & Technical Support – In General 3
Up-to-date Technology 4
Equipment Characteristics & Features (e.g. flexibility,
5
speed, capacity, unique features, etc.)
Costs of Materials and Maintenance 6
Operating Reliability/Accuracy 7
Availability of Repair Parts 8
6. Attitudes Toward Suppliers:
Midwest Foods has had positive experiences with USA suppliers. Negative
experiences have been with Germany and Netherlands due to poor service, prices
and availability of parts in Canada.
a. Perception of Machinery by Country:
Country Overall Opinion Quality Up-to-date
Technology
Service
Canada Average Average Average Good
Germany Average Good Good Poor
United States Good Good Good Excellent
b. Perception of Pricing by Country:
Country Price
Germany Somewhat
Expensive
United States Very Expensive
7. Purchasing Policies and Financial Arrangements:
Midwest Foods purchases its packaging machinery direct from manufacturers.
Purchase decisions are made by Engineering department/Operations while purchase
planning conducted by Engineering. Considerations for purchasing terms include
performance guarantees and on-time deliveries. Thus far, Midwest Foods has only
purchased replacement equipment individually.
8. Purchasing Issues:
Midwest Foods has experienced problems related to availability of service in Canada
and availability of parts.
9. Trade Show Attendance:
No Trade Shows have been attended, but Midwest would consider the Food
Processing Machinery Expo.
SMG/Columbia Consulting Group Page 97