The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-07-27
BUYING FOR A RAIL ROAD.
Some Purchasing Agents spend Five
Million Dollars Year.

Million Dollars a Year.
The purchasing agent of a great
railroad occupies place that would
be sinecure for those persons of
either sex who delight in buying for
buying's sake, says the n. !. Sun.
But it is no sinecure 10 the purchasing
agent, who buys from years end to
years end, and is always on the look
out for low prices, which he generally
finds. The custom of bic railroad is
no small matter TO any business house
and, as goods are always ordered in
large quantities, the prices are made
CORES spondingly low.
The work of the purchasing agent is
to audit all the acquisitions made up
on him by heads of departments and
station masters, and to buy the goods
called for. Some of this work lie does
in person and some by proxy. The
principal items with which he has to
deal are iron, rope, waste, glass, sta
tionery and oil. He must keep him
self informed of the market prices of
these articles, and be ready always to
take advantage of glut III the market
or drop in price from any other
| cause. He buys always at a discount
from the lowest market price, because
he buys in great quantities.
The purchasing agent OF such Z road
as the New York Central buys about
5000, 900 worth of goods every year.
He has nothing to do with the rails,
lumber, or heavy machinery; they are
attended to in other quarters. Every
head of department and every station
agent must make a requisition on the
1st of the month for the supplies that
he will need for that month. To keep
the business in good running order it
| is imperative that the acquisitions be
made on the 1st of the month; it will
not do for the agent to write in the
middle of the month that, he is short
of something.
These acquisitions are sent direct to
the purchasing agent, and he audits
them. If he thinks that too much of
any article has been ordered he cuts
down the order. If, on the other
hand, an order is manifestly too small,
he increases it. This. however. sell
dom happens. After the acquisitions
have been audited they are sent to one
of the principal officers of the com
pany for his approval. AS soon as
they receive his stamp the goods are
shipped to their destination. They
are not bought as needed, but are kept
| in stock in great quantities.
| A Sun reporter found the purchas-
ing agent of the New York Central
railroad in the midst of heap of requI-
| sitions. One or two examples will
| give an idea of what the acquisitions
| called for. One was for 3 dozen red
| globes for signal lanterns, 750 barrels
| of oil, 100 barrels of signal oil, % gall
| Ions of turpentIne, 10000 seals and
wires for sealing freight cars, a coil of
rope five inches in circumference,
| dozen brooms, half dozen sponges,
| 100 pounds of waste for cleaning CHM
neys, 3 gallons of soft soap for clean
| iug cabooscs, 4 kegs of nails. 800 en-
velopes, 1000 paper clasps, l gross
each of pens and pencils, and 10 yards
| of flag bunting. An office in the inte-
rior of the state called for 1000 large
envelopes, 20,0J0 small envelopes, 800
| small pads, 3, 600 application forms,
| 5J) monthly report blanks, 10 gross of
| pencils, 10 gross of clasps, 100 large
sticks of red sealing wax, 500 heavy
MANILA envelopes, D dozen oil cans, 3
| dozen lanterns, 10 signal lamps,
dozen white globes, 3 large lamps for
stations, 2 dozen broQmS. 4 feather
busters, $50 pounds of waste, 9 kegs of
nails, 4 half-dozen large chamois skins,
IS panes of glass 16x20, coils of small
rope, onc-fourth bale of coarse wrap
! ping paper, 25) fence pickets, and l.
/ 100 feet of barbed wire.
Sometimes the iron bought comes
! out of the foundry so hot that it
scorches the car floors. The discount
secured by buying iron in large guam
titles is very slight. but in stationery,
on the other hand. it is very large.
| Stationery at retail is not high at pres
ent, but the purchasing agent gets il
aS about one-half the usual rates. In
rope, too, he gets heavy discounts.
The purchasing agent not only kee ps
his mind practicing continual gymna g.
ties figuring for low prices, but he has
hard work to keep the run of all his
stock. The single item of envelopes
is enough to confuse him. The New
York Central railroad uses 10000 diff
ferent forms of envelopes.