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Trouble with special order
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UNIT 4
Peter Wiles, Hector Grant's nephew, is the Production Manager. He is going to have a very hectic day, but he thinks he will have a quiet morning dictating into a dictating machine a long report which his secretary, Jane, can type back later. John Martin comes into Peter's office very worried. He has just received a memo from the Production Department telling him that there will be a delay in delivery of some special plastic-coated steel sheets. These sheets are wanted for an important order. They will form part of a console for a computerised control system, the place where one man can sit and be responsible for the production of a large, fully-automatic chemical plant. To get the order, Harper & Grant had to promise to deliver these desks before a certain date. If they fail to deliver on time they will lose money, because there is a penalty clause in the contract.
To make these desks, the firm needs steel sheets which are coated, or covered, with plastic. The plastic coating is finished in a heat-treatment oven called an annealing oven. But the steel company who supply these sheets are not able to deliver on the date they promised: that is to say, they cannot honour their contract with Harper & Grant. But Harper & Grant did not have a penalty clause in their contract with the suppliers, so they may lose money unless something can be done about it pretty quickly.
(Peter Wiles's office)
PETER WILES: Jane, will you go and see if you can borrow John Martin's tape recorder for me? I've left my machine at home.
JANE: Here is Mr. Martin.
PETER: Oh, hello, John. Are you using your dictating machine this morning? I've got a long report I must dictate. Could I borrow your machine?
JOHN: Of course. But can you spare me a second? This memo you sent me about the delivery delay on the console control desks. What's gone wrong?
PETER: Everything, John. We have to get the steel sheets which we need for these desks from new suppliers. Well, the suppliers have got some trouble or other. They say they'll be a bit late with delivery.
JOHN: But they can't be! Those console control desks are a special order. They're wanted for one of the big computer companies. It's a very important contract.
PETER: When did we promise delivery?
JOHN: On Thursday week. And there's a penalty clause. We stand to lose ten per cent of our price for each week of overdue delivery.
PETER: Oh, these penalty clauses! Why do you sales people accept them?
JOHN: We have to accept them; otherwise we don't get the contracts.
PETER: Well, let's get on to the Buying Department. I only heard about the delay yesterday because we kept the production line clear to handle these special sheets. It's a dreadful nuisance.
JOHN: It'll be more than a nuisance if we don't meet our delivery date! It'll cost us a lot of money.
PETER: Keep calm, John. We can perhaps claim compensation from the steel suppliers for failure to deliver on time. That'll offset the penalty clause.
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JOHN: Well, if you can...
PETER (he dials on internal phone): Hello, Jones. Those plastic coated sheets — Mid Wales Steel Company are the suppliers, aren't they? Who do you deal with there? Mr. Morgan. Can you find put why there's this hold-up on delivery? Those sheets are urgent. Yes, they're wanted for a special order. What? You didn't know? Well, does that mean there was no time limit in the contract? Yes, phone me back, will you. If you like, I'll speak to Morgan myself.
JOHN: Does that mean we can't claim compensation if they fail to deliver on time?
PETER: It looks like it. Jones is checking our order now. He didn't know they were being ordered against a special job. He thought they were wanted for stock.
JOHN: Just our luck!
JANE: Mr. Jones for you on the phone, Mr. Wiles.
PETER: Hello. What did Morgan say? Oh, no! Well, if that's true, why did Mid Wales offer a delivery of thirty days? They must have known they couldn't honour it. Why did they accept our order at all? Yes. O.K. Morgan is ringing me, is he? Yes. I'd like to hear his excuses. Thanks, Jones. (He puts the receiver down.)
JOHN: What's the reason for the delay?
PETER: Deliveries are held up because one of their annealing ovens broke down. (Telephone rings.) Ah, that may be Morgan now.
JANE: Mr. Morgan of the Mid Wales Steel Company on the line,
PETER: Hello. Good morning, Mr. Morgan. Yes, Mr. Jones has been telling me. Well, you've put us in; a nice mess. Those sheets of yours are for a special order. We're due to deliver the finished console desks by next Thursday, and now you say there's a two-week delay... When did the oven break down? Yes. Well, the point is, what can you do to help us? It's too late to get the material for this job from another firm now... What? Well, if you can, that will help. Yes, I think we'd be prepared to share the extra cost of sending the goods by road. Yes... Goodbye.
JOHN: What does he say?
PETER: He says he can have half the items ready ex-works by noon
on Monday. That'll give us a day and a half to assemble the desks... one day for packing and delivery. Yes, well, we'll have to make this a crisis operation. Jane! Come in here, will you.
JANE: Yes, Mr. Wiles.
PETER: Get the Works Manager on the phone for me as soon as you
can.
JANE: Yes, Mr. Wiles.
JOHN: What about the other half?
PETER: Morgan thinks he can let us have them on Wednesday. By the time we get them assembled and delivered... let's see... They'll be about a week late, but maybe the customer will accept this. What do you think, John?
JOHN: I'll get on to them and find out.
PETER: Have you got the Works Manager yet, Jane?
JANE: I'm trying to get him, he's not answering his phone.
PETER: Well, try him on the public address. He's never in his office.
JANE: He's on the line now, Mr. Wiles.
PETER: Ah, Fielding. We have a crisis. How soon can we assemble those console-type desks? Yes, it'll involve rescheduling the production line, but what I want to know is... if we get the sheets by Monday, can we have them assembled, packed and ready to leave by Wednesday afternoon? It'll be only half the order arriving on Monday. The rest of the sheets will be delivered on Wednesday, which will give us the weekend... I can't help that. Paying double time will still be cheaper than the loss, we shall make if the customer insists on the penalty. Yes. You think you can? Good man. O.K. Thanks, Jane! Get the customer on the phone here for Mr. Martin, and then I must get down to that report.
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TERMS IN THE INTRODUCTION
1. production the man in charge of production. He is responsible
manager for co-ordinating all the factors such as the
stock levels, deployment of labour and use of machinery, so that goods will be produced when required and at minimum cost.
2. dictating a machine which records dictation. A secretary or
machine typist can plug in earphones to the machine and
type what she hears.
3. penalty a paragraph in a contract allowing the buyer to
clause deduct a percentage of the price as a penalty for late delivery.
4. honour do just what the contract specifies despite
a contract unforeseen difficulties.
TERMS IN THE EPISODE
1. tape recorder a machine which records sound on tape, and can reproduce it.
2. overdue not received on the date promised.
3. Buying the department responsible for buying in all
Department materials, such as paint, components,
stationery, fuel, parts, tools, etc., required by the company.
4. production the process through which the raw materials pass
line to make a finished product. To keep the production line clear: to keep the necessary machines free to be used for a particular series of operations.
5. to meet a to have the goods ready by the agreed time.
delivery date
6. compensation money or goods given to offset a loss caused
through failure to fulfill an obligation.
7. ex works ready to leave the factory.
8. public address a series of loudspeakers installed in various (system) places in the factory and office block to call
staff who are temporarily out of their offices
and so cannot be reached by telephone.
9. to reschedule a to alter the loading of work on a production line so production line that it can deal with a new series of operations.
Also to change the order in which certain machines are used.
10. double time employees are paid double their normal wage for working at certain times, e.g. on Sundays
VOCABULARY EXERCISES
I. Give the English equivalents to the following words and
expressions:
напряженный день; служебная записка; статья контракта о
штрафных санкциях; покрытый пластиком; выполнить условия
контракта по срокам поставки; требовать компенсации; покрыть
расходы по...; задержка поставки; причины чего-либо; взять на себя часть дополнительных расходов; срочное мероприятие; быть на связи; платить в двойном размере
II. Match the following words with their definitions:
| 1)memo 2)to reschedule 3)nuisance 4)hectic 5)to honor (a contract) 6)crisis 7)overdue | a)past the time specified, required b)a person or thing that causes annoyance or bother c)an unstable period, the one of extreme trouble or danger d)to fulfill (an agreement) e)to change the plan for performing something f)characterized by extreme activity g) a written communication, such as within an office |
III. Give synonyms and synonymous expressions to the following words and phrases:
1) dreadful
2) to claim
3) to offset
4) a hold-up
5) to accept
IV. Paraphrase the underlined parts of the following sentences:
1) The company couldn't honour the contract because of the hold-up in delivery from their suppliers.
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2) In case employees of a firm work at the weekends or holidays they are to be paid twice as much as their usual pay.
3) An there was no other way out, Harper & Grant decided that they would pay part of the additional expenses incurred in sending the goods by road.
4) In case of not meeting the delivery dates, penalty paid by the supplier is to compensate for part of the losses incurred by the buyer.
5) When people have a very busy day they are usually exhausted in the evening.
6) Peter said it was a terrible bother that their suppliers couldn't deliver the materials on time.
V. Paraphrase the following according to the model:
Model: My holiday will last three weeks.
I'll have a three-week holiday. or
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