IMPACT OF CONTAINERIZATION IN INTERNATIONAL PURCHASING
ABSTRACT
This project is made up of five chapters which contains different information about the project. The importance of containerization as a marketing tool was examined with the aim of assessing its contributions towards the purchasing of industrial products. To carryout research work, a total of One Hundred (100) industrial buyers were used as sample while was drawn from Aba Road, Port-Harcourt, Onne.
To gather data, personal interview and two sets of questionnaires were used one for industrial user and the other for staff.
In analysis of the results, percentage was used while chi-square technique is adopted in testing the hypothesis and it was tested at 5% level of significance.
The following hypothesis were tested, containerization of a product attracts a buyer, containerization of a product affects user’s decision to buy, in the course of the research useful findings were made which among others include, using of good colour combination materials and adequate shape and design to attract buyer’s attention.
It was also found that containerization play an important role or impact for promotion of product apart from its traditional role of protection. The belief in that container is a silent sales man. Apart from this, industrial buyers are motivated to buy particular material by their terms of delivery, quality, price and quantity; therefore, for a company to achieve its goals, management should give containerization and intelligent leadership and support since container in a dynamic complex and controversial business area. This involve improving their containerization policies are properly implemented.
Container or packaging as the name implies has many users VIS: protecting a product, identification of a product, differentiation of a particular brand for storage purpose est.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Containerization in a modern phenomenon in transportation since its emergence, it has swept all the modes of transportation like will fire. Through it, different modes of transportation and transport vehicles can combine with one another in imitating and completing journeys in cargo transportation.
Containerization is the use of large metal boxes for packing goods to be transported on long distances in order to facilitate handling and transfer among different vehicles Since its emergence in transportation, containerization port authorities, government and industrialists.
According to Amanze (1989:24-25) containers help to economies the number of movements and handling required in conveying a given quantity of cargo and ensure they than otherwise. However, the boxes that serve as containers in transportation generally posses’ three unique features, these are:
(a) THY ARE STANDARDIZED: They must be of the same size, shape and material so that they can easily be carried by the different vehicles in the different modes of transportation in different countries and contents.
(b) THEY ARE STRONG AND WEATHER PROOF: Transport containers must be strong or tough and weather proof so that can withstand the harsh conditions as the seas and ports and ensure the safety of the goods they are carrying. For this reason, containers are made of steel, aluminum or combination of these and other metals which do not rust easily.
(c) THEY ARE LARGE: Container must large so that they can be used to carry bulk materials. Where containers are very small, the amount of trans- shipment handling required would be much, thereby defeating the aim of containerization. However, containers must not be so large to the extent that they cannot fit into the vehicles used for carrying large cargo in the different modes of transportation.
The use of large containers for inland and overseas transportation and distribution of goods began in the early part of the Twentieth century. But in 1926 London Midland and Scottish Railways were the first firms to use containers. After 1956, an American shipping line called sea- land whose original business was road haulage started a containership service between New York and Porto-Rico. According to the American container trade journal in edition (1966:11-12), the main break through in containerization was attained by sea- land in 1965 with the intention to enter the trans- Atlantic trade with containership. This decision seemed to have jotted other shipping lines from slumber.
