Originally Posted by
Kitbag
Is there not a false premise in the accounting system? Surely having spent the capital in purchasing long lead, low usage items it is total stupidity to dispose of it because there hasn't been a use for it at the expected rate?
Correct, now I wonder who introduced RAC? He is not a hundred miles from Leuchars.
I imagine that contracts are placed as demand requires; what happens where demand is deliberately quashed, or someone somewhere thinks it best to clear the shelves to save a few quid?
Not if you can help it. If you order as demand requires, ie just after just-in-time, then you are open to delay and diversion orders and additional expense. JIT should operate against SD98 rates. For instance the Nimrod used to have a large gun, the Retro. This used a number of cartridges in a plastic breech block. The number of cartridges used per shot depended on the selected speed for the shot.
Each crew was allocated a number of rounds per period. Based on the number of crews there was an annual requirement for new cartridges. Now it so happened that a Temporary Flying Order changed the setting which reduced the consumption of a particular cartridge from around 5000 pa to nil but the annual contract meant we were building up stocks but had no consumption. This could have carried on ad infinitum except for a astute CS at Harrogate that spotted what was happening and rang my up as we were the major consumer. A quick phone call and I confirmed we had a nil requirement.
No of course I hope the computers are programmed to spot sudden changes in consumption and take the appropriate action.