Abstract
IT has recently been suggested to us that in placing orders for material or apparatus, an authority for the order should always be quoted in order to secure release of material. In an article on “The Manufacturers' Order Book” by “Sala” which appears in the Electrical Review of November 8, the whole problem raised by questions of priority is discussed. Almost every manufacturer of materials required in the war effort has to decide whether to refuse orders for the time being or to limit the acceptance of orders so as to bring them into line with his estimated output. The manufacturer can obtain but little guidance from his customers as to the urgency of their requirements, for each will rightly demand preference in view of the material being required for urgent Government work. It may also happen that material ordered through the usual trade channels is required for some vitally important part of the war effort and demands priority over orders received direct from Government departments. One way out of the difficulty is for the manufacturer to see that each customer will get a portion of his requirements. This rationing of supplies rarely solves the difficulties. The manufacturer realizes the inadvisability of refusing orders particularly as he generally has no means of authenticating their vital importance in comparison with the uncompleted priority orders still on his books. He feels that the responsibility of limiting or reducing the amounts specified in a consumer's order should not be left to the manufacturer.
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Rationing of Manufacturers' Supplies. Nature 146, 683 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/146683a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/146683a0