Some are specialized procurement brokers that for a commission of 5 to 20 percent will search for items needed by relief groups like surplus field kitchens, bulletproof vests and concertina wire. Every year, governments and international organizations spend tens of billions of dollars on both long-term relief projects and emergencies. And large buyers like the federal government will buy directly from manufacturers, negotiating contracts and storing emergency supplies at warehouses worldwide. But in a crisis like the war in Kosovo, charities, both large and small, pour hundreds of millions into a region. In addition, some relief organizations do not have their own procurement offices and rely on outsiders.
Many companies employ former relief workers and say they can do well by doing good.
Others see a huge aid effort as an opportunity to profiteer by selling goods at inflated prices to humanitarian groups or to donate drugs close to their expiration date rather than paying to destroy them. With hundreds of thousands of refugees in the Balkans in need of blankets, some dealers are holding back the 5 to 10 percent discount normally given for bulk purchases, one major procurement agency said. Urwin declined to identify the dealers but said he was able to find a blanket manufacturer in the United States willing to give him the discount. Bob Vliestra, the commercial director of the International Procurement Agency, a Dutch company, said it was supplying groups in Kosovo, including World Vision International, with items it had bought from around the world. Blankets are coming from an Egyptian producer, plastic sheeting used for ground coverings is coming from a Dutch company, and inexpensive pots and pans from a Czech manufacturer.