Emergency Purchases

[zsadiq]

Could you guys help me understand what is the procedure of handling emergency purchases in your organization. I have worked with companies who do/don't give freedom (monetary as well as decision making)to the end users.

Moreover, what kind of suppliers you use when the time is really crucial (in case of spares needed for critical breakdowns etc). I have mostly worked in Pakistan where we used "petty cash" suppliers (actually a very small enterprise, usually one or two guys) who could buy and deliver the stuff from market and bill us later. Is this applicable in your countries as well. Would appreciate if someone from Australia also give the input.

 

[KENAT]

Purchasing things on 'credit card' and slowed down here when they got rid of company credit cards for everyone except a few purchasing folk. It stopped almost completely when they all but banned getting reimbursed for such things.

So we now have to fill out a purchasing req, get it signed by a department manager with the appropriate $ value sign off, for large amounts get the directors signature, get it signed of by accounting that we're using valid job codes, find one of the few remaining on site purchasers to give it to, and then hope they get to it that day.

Or something like that. Our facilities guy may have a bit more lee-way I don't know.

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[ajack1]

Do you mean real emergency purchases like tea bags, milk, sugar and biscuits or just some widget that will shut production down?

For any REAL emergencies I would have thought any company would use whatever means possible from whoever could supply the part quickest, assuming they meet whatever safety standards are applicable.

 

[btrueblood]

My experience in several past jobs mimics what Kenat describes.

One thing was brought home to me the hard way: a company in the US has a legal obligation to make payroll (i.e. pay your paycheck). But reimbursements for employee expenses are not part of that - your reimbursement is handled as if you were any other creditor. Had my reimbursement check for several hundred $$ for R+D shop equipment held up for several weeks by a rather unscrupulous company CFO. Grrr....

 

[Unotec]

ajack, you'd be surprised when a process emergency purchase has to go through the hands of accountants and such folk.
I've been sitting at a cost of $25k/h for two and a half weeks because the administrative side did not want to fork $5k for a conveyor belt.

<<A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend
will be sitting beside you saying ” Damn that was fun!” - Unknown>>

 

[KENAT]

I just remembered, we can now do the purchase req via email. Still needs all the approvals but does make it easier for one of the purchasers in our divisions other sites to make the actual order.

Ajack, - I'd like to think what you put is true too but based on what I've seen I fear it isn't always.

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[Twoballcane]

Mcmaster.com is my first look for stuff and an understanding with management that you can use your corp card to make under $100 purchase in case of an emergency. If they say "yeah right (with a dum smirk)" then your concern may be over zealous.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[SomptingGuy]

We have to go through approved suppliers, so there's the process of getting a new supplier approved first. If I were to go to a random supplier with my company card, there'd be hell to pay when the bean counters finally get involved.


- Steve

 

[Twoballcane]

Have Mcmastercarr on your AVL and then have Mcmastercarr buy what you need and then buy it from Mcmastercarr.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[Ron]

Things to avoid if you want autonomous purchasing capability...

Companies with an approved vendor list...
Companies that require purchase requisitions...
Companies that have non-technical people making purchasing decisions

 

[KENAT]

Twoballcane that's great for anyone in the US or whatever other countries that McMaster sell in.

However, where Sompting is the equivalent would be something like 'RS'.

Sompting, we have the same issue with approved suppliers, although they do allow small credit card orders through purchasing from 'non approved' suppliers with some limitations.

We have a local hardware supplier that will buy things from third parties for us when we can't get them into the system etc. - for example for reasons I don't fully understand we can't buy direct from Missumi.

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[apsix]

Working for a consultant; if it's a cost that can be handballed straight to the client, plus 10%, it's usually not a problem.

 

[PeterStock]

I recently had to have texts purchased for a class I taught in Pro/E. As we could not use a company credit card to buy them from Amazon, we had to have another company buy them for us. About a 20 percent increase in cost because of our company policy re the credit card.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net

 

[GregLocock]

I think it varies wildly in Oz. In my last job I had $5000 sign off authority, in this one there is none. However each business unit has someone who does have an emergency dcredit card, so if there was a real job stopper then it can be resolved.

For instance I had a PC with a very unusual RAM config. When it needed new RAM we got it next day delivery from a non approved supplier using my manager's credit card.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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