Grundfos Case Study

Written assignment Spring 2016
Grundfos

Question 1:

Grundfos main activities involve the three Danish Grundfos companies (Grundfos DK A/S - the Sales Company, Grundfos A/S - the Production Company and Grundfos Holding A/S) which all are located in the small town, Bjerringbro, where the company was established in 1945.

The Poul Due Jensen Foundation established in 1975, today owns 87.9%, the staff 1.5% and the founder’s family 10.6% of the shares in Grundfos Holding A/S.
More than 80 companies in more than 55 countries represent the Grundfos Group. In addition local distributors sell Grundfos products worldwide.

Grundfos is a Danish company build on the Danish values quality and innovation. Grundfos supplies pumping systems and solutions

They have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange terms of purchase. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but their major role is selecting the supplier and negotiating a deal. In the case given, where a the firm is facing a major investment, which makes the purchase more complex since the stakes are higher, high-level officers are often participating in the negotiations with the supplier, in this case Grundfos.

The buying process consists of 8 stages. As I assume the investment in Grundfos pumps is most likely a new task. Buyers facing a new task usually go through all 8 stages of the buying process.
The buying process can be illustrated very well with a flow diagram. However, facing the new task makes it a complex buying decision which usually is much more complicated than the flow diagram

It has been like that for a long time and will continue that way. The foundation sees profit as a mean to growth, not a goal in itself. Grundfos has healthy financial foundation and is continuously growing.
• Partnership: Grundfos creates value through close relations with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Grundfos is a global brand with more than 80 companies in 55 countries representing the Grundfos Group. Grundfos believes that diversity drives innovation and growth, and have build a company structure on local entrepreneurship contributing to the overall success of the company.
• Relentlessly ambitious: Grundfos is a ambitious company with a challenge to continuously creating better solutions for costumers satisfaction. They take a great pride in delivering the best quality in everything they do. They believe in innovations and a smarter future.

These are of course Grundfos own values. While they might be exaggerated, they do represent Grundfos as a company and the selling propositions they will make to their customers. The message sent in these 6 values, are something every company could back up, when choosing Grundfos as a supplier or partnership as these kinds of suppliers actually could be considered