INTRODUCTION

Urban women play a significant role in the domestic and socio-

economic life of the society. In India, over the years, both female and male
roles have been changing. Many Women are placing an increasing value on
independence and the freedom to do what they want. Being aware of the dual
responsibility at home and office, working wives are pressurized for time. As
they enjoy economic freedom, it may appear that they make independent
decisions. More women are also rejecting traditional roles related to
submissiveness and home making. The rise in the importance of Information
Technology has given rise to a variety of new professions. They have
spawned a taste for cosmopolitan lifestyle among the emerging middle class.
Breakup of joint families, rise in the member of nuclear families and greater
urbanization has increased the dependence on household appliances and
labour-saving gadgets. In this scenario, women are becoming more visible in
the markets and are emerging as the new decision makers at home.
Consumer behaviour is a sub-division of human behavior and is
characterized by the same inconsistency and unpredictability. In many ways,
it is a subtle phenomenon. The reason for the behavior is not always clear.
Consumer behaviour is dynamic, because the thinking, feeling and actions of
individual consumers and targeted consumer groups are constantly changing.
The various aspects of consumer behaviour and the influencing facts are not
the same for all consumers. Each consumer segment has its own priorities,
attitudes and preferences; therefore it is necessary to study various segments
of the market. Strategies that works at one time or in one market may fail
miserably at other times or in other markets. Consumer actions are sometimes
difficult to predict and sometimes even hard to explain. Once the consumer is
aroused to action, the next stage is information search. This normally begins
with an internal search, namely, a review of memory for stored information
and experiences regarding the problem. This information is in the form of
beliefs and attitudes that have influenced the customers preferences towards
brands.

PURCHASE MANAGEMENT
In current downturn, organization often finds difficult to expand their
revenue. The alternate way to increase their revenue is by reducing cost.
Saving cost is equal to revenue generated. Purchase of goods and services
costs almost 40 to 60% of the average companys revenue (Ref: Aberdeen
Research). In manual purchase process, it is often difficult for organizations
to identify the gaps and opportunities to save cost. Purchase Management
System (PMS) can be an effective tool for organization to automate their
purchasing process and thereby helps the management to gain visibility and
control over the purchasing process which can open up the opportunity to
save cost in many ways. PMS is an on premise, easy to implement, flexible,
user friendly purchase automation system. With PMS, we can automate and
streamline all stages of purchasing process starting from user requisition and
up to payment process. PMS can help to streamline end user requirements,
control spending with approval mechanism, reduce paperwork with workflow
based system, lower prices by aggressive vendor negotiation, lower inventory
by increasing turnaround time and comply with Government and Audit
regulations. With Rapid implementation and user friendly support by,
Organization can realize higher levels of user adoption, low total cost of
ownership and a better positive return on investment.