Columbia Industries, Inc.

Section A
Group 1
Roll Number Name
1301-045 Ashutosh Tiwari
1301-052 Rahul Billapati
1301-067 Dhiraj Phani Venkata Bonda
1301-082 Gullapalli Hari Kishan
1301-104 L Sumanth
1301-108 M V S Srikanth
1301-123 Mohana Vamshi Nivarthi
1301-132 Neha Mishra
 Columbia Industries, Inc.

Issues
About

• Largest manufacturer of code • Problems with stability of

approved products
lift truck at its full load
• Product line – Couplings, Flex seal and fully extended
couplings, Large diameter repair
couplings, inflatable plugs, speciality
couplings • Excessive maintenance
costs
• Reaches customers through large
network of specialized distributors,
supply houses and mass • Limited number of lift
merchandisers trucks
• Vancouver operations – rapid
increase in sales and demands in
last few years Figure 1: Lift truck
Solution
• Acquisition of 7 new lift trucks with the qualifications of low down time, safety, good service and
maneuverability
• The Industrial Engineer, Mr. Stuart West was assigned this task

Buying situation
This buying situation can be termed as ‘Modified rebuy’, because of the following reasons:
• The company is looking for additional suppliers or is ready to modify the approved vendors list based on the
technical capabilities and delivery capabilities
• Benefits to be derived by re-evaluating alternatives
• Displeased with the performance of current supplier
• Buyers have well defined criteria
Organizational buying process

• Total lift: 262’’

• Performance (safe and
stable at maximum load)
• Durability (reduced
maintenance costs)

Figure 2: Organizational buying process

Organizational buying process
• Purchasing department
narrowed the scope to 5
brands:
• Yale
• Komatsu
• Caterpillar
• Hyster
• Toyota

• Proposals were
acquired from all the 5
brands

• All the 5 proposals were

analysed
Figure 2: Organizational buying process
Analysis of proposals
Brand Features of the proposal
Yale • Impressive performance
• Highly stable and safe with full load and fully extended
• Confidence about repairing
• Demonstration performed
• Uncertain in using all the features
• Total cost: $ 17,380 with free warranty of 18 months or 3,750 hours
Komatsu • No demonstration performed
• Total cost: $ 18,400 with free warranty of 12 months or 2,250 hours
Caterpillar • Very maneuverable and had advanced features
• Confident in operating the truck
• Highly stable and safe with full load and fully extended
• Confidence in addressing the problems
• Total cost: $ 20,900 with free warranty of 12 months or 3,000 hours
Hyster • Very maneuverable
• Confident in operating the truck
• Confidence about repairing
• Much more reliable than previous model
• Uncertain about its stability and safety with full load and fully extended operation
• Total cost: $16,320 with free warranty of 36 months or 5,000 hours
Toyota • Very maneuverable and had advanced features
• Unable to test the stability and safety of the truck (demonstration performed with different model)
• Total cost: $21,200 with free warranty of 20 months or 4,500 warranty
Supplier selection (1/2)

• Suppliers are selected after extensive evaluation of objective information

• Only Yale, Caterpillar and Hyster are considered for evaluation
• Komatsu – Not considered for evaluation – Since, there was no demonstration
• Toyota – Not considered for evaluation – Different model used for demonstration
Supplier selection (2/2)
• Yale – Y
• Caterpillar – C
• Hyster – H

Table 1: Vendor analysis (Comparison chart)

Weightage Poor(1) Fair(2) Good(3) Excellent(4)
Stability & Safety 25% H Y, C
Maintenance 20% Y H C
Warranty 15% C Y H
Maneuverability 10% Y H C
Ease of usage 10% Y, C H
(ability to adapt)
Responsiveness 10% Y, H C

Price 5% C Y H

Past performance 5% H C Y
Recommendations
Cumulative scores:
• Yale (Y): 0.25 * 4 + 0.2 * 2 + 0.15 * 3 + 0.15 * 2 + 0.1 * 3 + 0.1 * 3 + 0.05 * 3 + 0.05 * 4 = 3
Similarly,
• Caterpillar (C): 3.45
• Hyster (H): 3

Hence, Caterpillar is our recommendation seeing the required prospects mentioned in the case. Also,
warranty can be extended on negotiation in case of ‘Caterpillar’ (mentioned in the proposal).
Thank you
Thank You