Canadian Packaging Machinery Market Research Report - PMMI

a. Perception of Machinery by Country:
Country Overall Opinion Quality Up-to-date
Technology
Service
Britain Good Good Excellent Very Poor
Canada Good Good Good Good
France Good Good Good Poor
Germany Excellent Excellent Excellent Average
Italy Excellent Excellent Excellent Average
Japan Average Good Good Very poor
United States Excellent Excellent Good Good
b. Perception of Pricing by Country:
Country Price
Britain Somewhat Expensive
Canada Good Prices
France Somewhat Expensive
Germany Very expensive
Italy Somewhat Expensive
United States Good Prices
7. Purchasing Policies and Financial Arrangements:
Smuckers buys directly from suppliers using very specific specifications regarding the
desired performance of the equipment. The Company does not utilize supplier
financing.
In regard to the use of purchasing turnkey solutions versus acquiring individual
pieces of machinery, the choice depends on the complexity of the project. The
company structures its contracts to ensure that responsibility for the equipment’s
performance rests with the supplier. For example, if it purchases a conveying system
to supply jars from one machine to another, the conveyor and the controls would be
in the same contract.
8. Purchasing Issues:
The major problem Smucker experiences in its packaging machinery acquisitions is
obtaining the desired performance quickly.
9. Trade Show Attendance/Trade Publication Information:
Representatives of Smuckers attend each PACK EXPO International and are
considering attending PACK EXPO Las Vegas.
10. Specific Interests:
New concepts in packaging.
SMG/Columbia Consulting Group Page 117