INDEPENDENT PURCHASING AGENCIES National Association of Purchasing Agents. The National Association of Purchasing Agents has approximately 5,000 members, including representatives of manufacturers of industrial and consumer products and some 200 purchasing officials of States and municipalities. The National Association of Purchasing Agents does no basic research on materials or their development. All of its present activities deal with policies and procedure of value to purchasing agents. Six or seven years ago the association had committees actively carrying on work in the standardization and simplification of various lines of commodities of interest to members of the purchasing profession such as classification of coal for steam generators, an outline for the scope of specifications to be used in ordering shipping containers made of corrugated fiberboard, standard nomenclature for shipping containers, standard methods of testing cotton goods, and a standard code for marking steel in bars. Recently the National Association of Purchasing Agents decided to eliminate the initiation of standardization projects from its activities, feeling that the recognized standardization agencies, such as the National Bureau of Standards, the American Society for Testing Materials, the American Petroleum Institute, and many trade associations were better organized to handle standardization projects and that the contribution of the National Association of Purchasing Agents might best be made through cooperation with these agencies. When the association has a project requiring consideration by one of these agencies it has no difficulty in securing their cooperation. This is true, alike, of projects dealing with standardization, inspection, grading, certification, and labeling of products. The National Association of Purchasing Agents has developed standard contract forms in cooperation with other organizations. Frequently, the association's assistance is requested in the development of a satisfactory contract form by a trade group; such assistance is always willingly given because of the belief that buyer and seller usually can arrive at mutually satisfactory terms through friendly cooperation and that well-drafted contract forms contribute to such cooperation. In the development of a procedure for centralized purchasing in governmental agencies, the National Association of Purchasing Agents was probably the original sponsor. Nearly all States and most large cities now have centralized governmental purchasing and, either directly or indirectly, were assisted by the association through its special Committee on Governmental Purchasing. Educational Buyers Association. The Educational Buyers Association, New York City, is composed of procurement officers of over 350 educational institutions, compris ing colleges and universities, including municipal and State, as well as some private secondary schools and boards of education. Educational institutions operating under State and municipal regulations are often compelled to buy completely on the basis of competitive bidding, and have set up specifications which are patterned after the Federal Specifications. The Product Testing Committee of the Educational Buyers Association prepares periodic reports on commodities of general usage in which are shown the valuable and detrimental characteristics of these commodities as determined by laboratory test. Eight of these reports were sent to the membership during the past year. The subjects of these reports were chosen for test by a questionnaire and are as follows: Product testing aids, linoleum and floor brushes, fire extinguishers, adhesives and paste, flags, calking lead, red writing ink, garden hose, toilet paper, blotting paper, chalk, antifreeze solutions, glue for woodworking, paper towels, and typewriter ribbons. The facilities of the educational institution at which a member of the association is located furnish an opportunity for individual laboratory tests, the results of which are often forwarded to the executive secretary of the Educational Buyers Association for transmittal to the entire membership of the association. This type of activity is purely voluntary. At sectional meetings, planned and held throughout the year, and at the annual convention, much of these individual findings are exchanged. The "Homemade Products" column in the association's confidential "Bulletin" is of most practical help to the membership. This feature permits alert educational buyers to cut their costs and improve the quality of the products used. The range of items extends from insectcontrol preparations to diving boards and asphalt pavements. The application of the principle of cooperation is not exclusively intra-association. The Educational Buyers Association joins with other reputable consumer groups in projects for establishing standards. Most recently the Educational Buyers Association has agreed to assist the American Hospital Association in the development of adequate consumer standards for sheets, pillowcases, and sheeting. One of the services of the association to its members is the help provided in establishing specifications and also indicating test method procedures to ascertain that the materials delivered conform to the specifications, or calling the members' attention to standard methods of analysis developed by such standardizing bodies as the American Society for Testing Materials. Because many privately endowed institutions are small, it would be economically unsound to set up elaborate systems of specifications and testing for their own use. The Educational and Institutional Cooperative Service, Inc., organized by the Educational Buyers Association, and known as the E and I Cooperative, was formed for the purpose of enabling members to make advantageous purchases of nationally distributed products. This organization sets its standards before it makes its contracts with distributors and, when advisable, uses an independent laboratory to test merchandise before the contract is consummated, to see that the standards specified are maintained. The E and I Cooperative has entered into some 50 different contracts for commodities in general use in educational institutions. A contract is entered into with the vendor only after exhaustive trial of the vendor's product has occurred at several member institutions which are set up to determine the value both by actual use and laboratory tests. Hospital Bureau of Standards and Supplies. The Hospital Bureau of Standards and Supplies, New York City, founded 30 years ago and incorporated January 13, 1934, is a cooperative purchasing association of some 207 voluntary hospitals. The Bureau renders a fourfold service to its members: (a) Quotation or inquiry service.—It furnishes its member institutions with the most economical prices available from a Nation-wide standpoint on medical, surgical, household, kitchen, laundry, engineering, and other hospital supplies, and on some foodstuffs. (b) Buying service.—It works out buying arrangements whereby these goods can be purchased on the basis of the requirements of the entire group instead of on those of the individual hospital. (c) Technical service.-Its Research Department determines the relative merits of major hospital items and recommends selections on both a quality and price basis. It studies hospital practices in the use of materials and points out methods of obtaining greater economies. It offers a technical consultant service on special problems. (d) Special information service.-When requested it secures information on sources of supply, prices, use-value, etc., of comparatively unknown or highly specialized items.' Members usually purchase less than one-half of their required needs through the bureau. The total savings to members are estimated at $350,000 per year, not considering savings made due solely to distribution of purchasing information by the bureau. The Hospital Bureau of Standards and Supplies recognizes that any intelligent comparison of prices must take into consideration the question of quality and that all too often comparisons are made without the standard or grade being known, or on the assumption that an item is of a given standard where it may be actually either above or below the standard. In 1939 a standardization program was inaugurated to undertake three chief lines of activities: 1. To test and report on those brands and types of products used in large quantities in hospitals. 2. To prepare specifications on the basis of such tests and special service requirements as determined by hospital needs. 3. To check the shipments of hospital supplies for the purpose of determining their compliance with specifications.3 The program embodies the use of recognized standard test methods where they exist, and where necessary the development by the bureau of its own test methods; testing of products purchased in large quantities to ascertain compliance with specifications; study of actual wear or use requirements for particular products; and upon completion of laboratory tests and surveys to determine the use requirements, preparation of purchase specifications. Where specifications are available from Government or municipal sources, the bureau will use these as a basis in preparing its own specifications. The bureau has already completed performance and other tests on the following items: Gauze, bandage rolls, absorbent cotton, cellulose, "Hospital Bureau of Standards and Supplies, Inc., What It Is and What It Offers," p. 1, New York City. 1940. "Research Program of the Hospital Bureau," p. 1, Hospital Bureau of Standards and Supplies, New York City, 1940, mimeographed. sanitary pads, paint, and thermometers. Preliminary work has been completed on blankets, sheets, syringes, paper towels, and toilet tissue. The bureau purchases all kinds of special, surgical, household, kitchen, laundry, engineering, and other supplies commonly used by an institution and also a large number of staple groceries, including canned and packaged foodstuffs (about 2,000 items in all). It does not handle any fresh foodstuffs. Standards, specifications, and test methods from Federal, municipal, and nongovernmental agencies are used by the bureau, as well as resports of products by brand name, prepared by testing laboratories and commodity testing and rating agencies. TESTING LABORATORIES The American Council of Commercial Laboratories. The American Council of Commercial Laboratories is an association of 20 independent commercial laboratories widely distributed throughout the country. Some of these members maintain a number of branch laboratories in different cities. The objects of the council are the promotion of scientific analysis, testing, inspection, or research and advancement of the welfare of the independent scientific laboratories which associate themselves for this purpose.* The council disseminates among its members information concerning the economic, promotional, and other values of laboratory services; seeks to maintain the services of members on a high plane of reliability and encourages cooperation among its members to increase services to clients. Members of the council agree to maintain certain policies designated to further the council's objectives. Listed among these are policies which directly affect the quality or standard of services performed for their clients and others: To assert competency only in work for which they are adequately equipped and for which adequate experience is available or adequate preparation has been made. To refrain from rendering services where they will aid enterprises which may be fraudulent or contrary to the public welfare. To endeavor in reports to make clear the significance and limitations of findings reported. To safeguard reports as far as is possible against misinterpretation or misuse, and to contend against such misinterpretation or misuse. To oppose incompetent and fraudulent analysis, testing, inspection, or research. To cooperate so far as reasonably practicable in the activities of professional and scientific societies and related associations and to make to them contributions of personal services and of suitable technical information insofar as this may be done without violating the rights and interests of clients. To render services upon request one for another where equipment or experience is lacking, or where economy or promptness of results can be gained thereby." A laboratory may be dropped from membership for conduct at variance with the above policies. However, the member laboratory is first given an opportunity to be heard before an arbitration committee; if the arbitration committee so recommends to the executive committee the membership must be canceled. Services of commercial laboratories.-Member laboratories of the council engage in research, analysis, inspection, testing, surveys, and statistical analysis. They investigate and report upon raw materials, finished products, devices, and processes. They render reports, con "By-Laws," p. 1, American Council of Commercial Laboratories, New York City, revised December 1938. Ibid., p. 4. |