22 Station Bulleiix 362 



operates its own fertilizer factory, has attempted to encourage early or- 

 ders and acceptance of deliveries at car door. An attractive discount was 

 offered on such earl\' orders, and in 1944 and 1945 considerable headway 

 ^\'as made in that connection. 



Inasmuch as the cash delivered consumer price on this same analysis, 

 as quoted by a number of companies, was $43.60 a ton, and assuming a 

 delivery charge of $1.00, this would give a non-delivered price of $42.60. 

 This would still leave a maximum gross savings of $8.20, or over 19 per 

 cent if advantage were taken of the lowest price. 



Table 17. — Possible Gross Savings Through Attention to Methods 

 of Purchasing Fertilizers from One Company 



20% superphosphate 26.80 26.80 28.80 2.00 6.1 



60% muriate of 



potash 44.60 44.60 46.60 2.00 4.3 



16% nitrate of soda 38.80 38.80 40.80 2.00 4.9 



Aver. 3 chemicals 36.73 36.73 38.73 2.00 5.2 



FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION IN MAKING PURCHASES 



Every possibility of making the maximum savings in purchasing fer- 

 tilizers should be considered. Combine these types of savings which 

 will give the lowest cost and still be practicable under the conditions 

 which must be met. 



Check these factors for possible advantages in purchasing: 



1. Sources 6. Mixtures vs. chemicals 



2. Reliability of product 7. Size of order 



3. Price quotations 8. Delivery direct from plant 



4. Advantages in early ordering 9. Car door delivery 



5. Most economical analysis 10. Credit - sources and cost 



These factors have been discussed in preceding paragraphs. They 

 are briefly summarized here: 



1. Source of product. Determine just what fertilizers are available 

 in the community and the name and location of the concerns handling 

 them. Do not be dependent on one source. 



2. Reliability of product. Check the guarantees against inspection 

 reports available from your state university or state department of agri- 

 culture. Determine which companies are above average in meeting 

 guarantees. In the cases studied, companies ranged on the average from 

 slightly below the chemical guarantees to 9 per cent over guarantees. 



