Johann thought that he was near the source of his problems, and might ask for
the purchasing policies to be reviewed. Then he talked to the transport manager who
was not so sure. ‘It is much more efficient for me to bring larger quantities into the
company’, he said. ‘If you reduce the average order size, the transport costs will rise.
Our budget is already being squeezed, as we have to pay for expensive express deliveries of materials that production classify as urgent. If you lower the order size,
there will be more shortages, more express deliveries and even higher costs.’