Plastic spring clips

[gene]

Many moons ago, the primary purpose for a Company's Purchasing Department was to buy stuff for the company.

Today Purchasing Departments are seen as Profit Centers. Constantly reducing costs is their primary purpose for existing. They still buy stuff, but that's not their primary function. They need to buy stuff cheaper this year than last year.

It is amazing the analysis that can go into switching to a cheaper plastic part: engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales, shipping, receiving, accounting.

And then there are companies that make the switch with only input from accounting and they keep their fingers crossed that the cost of problems generated by the switch will be less than the amount saved.

Accounting gets credit for saving the company money but it costs other departments more money with the problems that it causes and those other departments, such as sales and customer service, get blamed for the problems. LOL

I think sofaD is talking about:

Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence[1] in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time.[2] The rationale behind the strategy is to generate long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases (referred to as "shortening the replacement cycle"). Wikipedia

gene

[Rich]

Sorry to split this into two threads, but one more thought-that song must come from a time when a skilled craftsman's abilities were held in high regard. Unlike today.
Thanks,
Rich

[sofadoc]

Gene:
I'm currently doing sub-work for a factory that builds seating for department store dressing rooms.

Their "purchasing agent" always wants a volume price. On one particular job, I priced it so that if they order 10 or more, they get a small discount per piece. Basically, they would get 10 for the price of 9.

Well, this agent obviously missed his calling in life. He always orders 9. Fine with me.

Rich:
We can't do a modern-day song, because we don't have a word that rhymes with obsolescence.

[mike802]

Is it to be funny, or just for the money? I cant find the essence in obsolescence!!

[gene]

We can't do a modern-day song, because we don't have a word that rhymes with obsolescence.

Here ya go, sofaD. Taken from my favorite web site, wordhippo.com

essence, quintessence, senescence, acquiescence, adolescence, coalescence, convalescence, evanescence, luminescence, phosphorescence.

gene

[sofadoc]

I would try to make a song out of those words. But I just don't have enough effervescence.