Vendor competition

In addition to providing some control of price risk, futures and options markets are also very useful mechanisms for price discovery and for gauging market sentiment. There is a world-wide need for accurate, real-time information about the prices established through futures and options trading, that is, a need for price transparency. Exchange prices are simultaneously transmitted around the world via a network of information vendors terminal seiwices directly to clients, thereby allowing users to follow the market in real time wherever they may be. Energy futures prices are also widely reported in the financial press. These markets thus enable an open, equitable and competitive environment. 

Third, simple approaches constrain the relationship to be the same for all contexts. Jones and Sasser (1995) find that the customer satisfaction-customer loyalty relationship varies by industry, possibly because of differences in competitive environment. Bowman and Narayandas (2001, 2004) find that customer-specific factors such as the competitive context at a given customer account can occasion differential responsiveness. Accounting for heterogeneity in customer relationships and customer response to a vendor s strategies and tactics is a key theme of much recent research in management science. 

According to the vendor, the technology is very competitive with alternative treatment technologies and disposal alternatives when used to bioremediate petroleum-contaminated soils. When compared with thermal treatment. Earth Tech s bioremediation price is typically 10 to 30%... 

According to the vendor, Capsur s extraction efficiencies allow for less product use and fewer applications than for competitive products, resulting in lower labor costs. Average coverage rates given by the vendor (D15272H) are as follows ... 

The vendor states the cost of full-scale MERS treatment depends on soil characteristics, the concentration and chemical state of the targeted metal contaminants, the concentration of unregulated metals, and the cleanup objectives. The vendor claims the cost of MERS processing is competitive with the cost of landfill disposal, soil stabilization, and soil washing (D124538,... 

The vendor claims that its thermal desorption technology offers quick turnaround time, terminates future liability, and processes virtually aU soil matrices at a competitive price. 

The development of customer accounts on a multisite, national, or international basis improves vendor revenues and limits competition. The largest vendors employ this strategy to eliminate those competitors who lack the financial or people resources to undertake water treatment contracts on such a scale. The long-term vendor benefits, when dealing with poor buyers, is that successful vendors can control significant commercial information, limiting the abilities of competitors to bid effectively in subsequent contracts and effectively creating a monopoly. 

On the other hand, buyout associations have to compete for portfolio companies and therefore have to convince potential vendors as well as their management teams of their strategy. The increase in competition for deals is therefore also leading to differentiation and specialization. 

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