OCR Text |
Show Elimination of Waste in Production and Distribution Distri-bution Called For By RAY M. HUDSON, Department of Commerce. Tremendous wastes in production and distribution have done much to lower the purchasing power of the dollar today to about one-half its 1913 level. These wastes have been caused largely by too much variety which, by reason of the vast number of minor differences in every day commodities, is placing a heavy burden on everyone in the country. Private enterprise has attacked this problem in many cases, and with considerable measure of success. For instance, a shoe manufacturer has reduced his variety from three grades and 2,500 styles to one grade and 100 styles, thus bringing the price of these shoes to the consumer at $6.-60 $6.-60 where previously they sold at $10. Further, a hat manufacturer who found that of the 3,GS4 styles and colors he was making. 90 per cent of the demand was supplied by seven styles and ten colors and thus again was the cost to the consumer lowered. A survey taken by the Department of Commerce showed wastes ranging from 28 per cent in the metal trades to 64 per cent in the manufacture of men's ready-to-wear clothing. The average' waste of eix industries surveyed, he said, was almost 50 per cent almost half of the material, labor, time and money lost. Half of these losses were due to faulty management caused by low production, interrupted production and restricted and lost production. Wastes in production have their parallel in wastes in distribution, the causes of which he classified as follows : Speculation, seasonal operation, opera-tion, lack of statistics, lack of standards, too many varieties, nonuniform business practice, deterioration of commodities, inadequate transportation transporta-tion facilities, disorderly marketing, too many links in the distribution chain, bad credits, faulty understanding of economics, unfair practice, excessive uses of materials and destruction by fire. |