Publication Date

1967

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Green, Gerald G.||Sims, Clarence A.

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Management

LCSH

Sales personnel; Selling

Abstract

The problem was an attempt to answer, or make inferences about whether or not there will be an increasing need for Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representatives. The five areas the study concentrated on were: general information about Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representatives; information on the respective Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative organizations; qualified information on the importance of creativeness and innovation; information on thought and intentions to sell a materials handling equipment system; and qualified information on the future outlook for Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representatives. The primary sources of data for the study were personal interviews and a questionnaire. Personal interviews, were conducted with two Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative organizations and the Executive Director of the Chicago Materials Handling Society. A questionnaire was mailed to presidents of 63 Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative organizations in the Chicago area. Twenty-nine of the questionnaires were returned and used in the study. Library research was utilized as secondary data to investigate the literature related to the study. Since their respective establishments, the queried Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative organizations have grown and progressed in most if not all aspects of their business. Along with this growth, 86 per cent of the respondents have experienced increased competition. The thinking on the part of the Materials Handling Industry is in the direction of or is changing to a materials handling equipment system. Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representatives are cognizant of systems thinking within the industry and a few are emphasizing the sale of materials handling equipment systems. The increase in competition and the trend emphasizing the materials handling equipment systems concept has placed increasing stress on techniques of creative selling and product innovation. Thirty-one per cent of the respondents answered that there would not be an increasing need for Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative's evidencing that some manufacturers' representative organizations are weighing all the factors that could spell continuation or phase-out for Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representative organizations. The study did not conclusively reveal whether or not there would be an increasing need for Materials Handling Manufacturers' Representatives. It did, however, indicate the trends within the Materials Handling Industry to systems thinking and manufacturers' expansion which could eventually lead to individual company sales forces. Management will be the key factor, if not the sole factor, that will be responsible for coping with and taming the influences of these anticipated changes and the affects that may result from them.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

67 pages, 8 unnumbered pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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