Show Business Today Today Today-j Small Firms Must Use Basic Rules I Dr By JA JAMES JAlES lES MARLOW VILLIAM ILLIA PINKERTON riNKERTON NEW YORK July 6 Wide This This is where the road jets gets tough and thorny for thou- thou ands of small business men who may Say be forced to the wall wail They tile use ase their heads now or they go o down iown Philip Reed chief of the war industries branch of ot the war production production pro pro- board has estimated 25 DOO manufacturers might be forced to 0 dose close their doors by October 1 These firms with an annual lilts volume ranging from DOO to according to business management engineers fan fall into two main groups Those who can neither get materi materi materials ma ma- teri ls for civilian operation nor convert to war production and those who still can convert convert but hive not yet secured contracts Perhaps third one-third of the 25 predicted victims of this counts country's country's coun coun- try's ts driving need to get the war fob ob done still can save themselves themselves them them- selves l in the opinion of Marvin Bower partner in the management management manage manage- ment nent engineering firm of McKinley McKin- McKin Vey ley ey Co Bower says iThe The key to securing direct prime contracts from some branch ft of the armed forces lies in an understanding un un- un- un of tle psychology of the the contracting officers Setter Better Managed There has been much talk about the he larger corporations being favored favored fa fa- a- a ored over the small concerns but b basically it gets back to the belief chef of the contracting officer that the larger concerns are better better bet bet- ter managed have better management management management manage manage- ment techniques and therefore will be more certain to meet contract provisions The smaller concern has greater great- great er x r d difficulty in establishing by l that it has sound management man- man techniques I r One contracting officer is more willing rilling to accept the contract of the he smaller concern when it is manufacturing a product similar fin i character to that which it normally normally nor nor- mally produces I For the business man who stubbOrnly stub refused to switch from his time old products the research institute of America says this may well prove to be the last call I But what of ot the small corporation corporation corpora- corpora tion which does not know what type of product it might manufacture manu manu- facture factura similar to its normal production production production pro- pro This is the type of company which is first on the time table o of failures unless it takes prompt and aggressive action according Bo 9 Bower who recommends the following program for small firms ns Try to sell the government with the same imagination and vigor gor r required in selling in any Competitive market A definite ules staff should be set et up to toc Contact c local as well as Washington Washing Washing- ton ton branches of the various armed fi services Subcontracts Needed II Concerns without prime contracts con- con tracts trac should put their greatest emphasis on securing IK The army navy and air corps IJ L recent months have brought great pressure to bear on the large I Prime contractors to do subcontracting subcontracting because the drastic shortages shortages short- short j ages Ses of ot materials have forced the l War Yar ar production board to limit the Construction of new plants Thus the services are putting pressure on the large contractors to w substitute subcontracts for additional ad- ad additional prime contracts requiring ew facilities Our survey among the small manUfacturers shows that in rec rent re- re c nt weeks such pressure has largely stimulated the number of Inquiries they are receiving from JUne th the prime contractors Bin In seeking prime contracts the f must H First Je t-He t He must make certain he ihas bas the facilities management m methods and personnel that will wil enable him to manufacture a type Kf of Product new to him Second The Second The small manufacturers manufacture mt e ers 1 seeking prime contracts must i his market |