Coordination of equipment and supplies purchase
A feasibility study of coordinated equipment and supply purchases.
Borelli, R.F., "Coordination of equipment and supplies purchase", RFC 249, DOI 10.17487/RFC0249, October 1971, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc249>.
@misc{rfc249,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 249,
howpublished = {RFC 249},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0249},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc249},
author = {R.F. Borelli},
title = {{Coordination of equipment and supplies purchase}},
pagetotal = 2,
year = 1971,
month = oct,
} RFC text
NIC 7690
Network Working Group R. F. Borelli
Request for Comments #249 University of Illinois
Center for Advanced
Computation
October 8, 1971
Coordination of Equipment and Supplies Purchase
-----------------------------------------------
The purpose of this message is to pass on to all members of the
Network an agreement reached between Messrs. Steve Crocker of ARPA and
R. F. Borelli of the University of Illinois. The Center for Advanced
Computation has agreed to study the feasibility of a coordinating point
for purchases of equipment and supplies to be used on the network.
To this end, the Center will compile a list of common equipment and
supplies needed by Network members and ascertain the value of contacting
the appropriate manufacturers and distributers in order to negotiate the
best possible group price. Thereafter, the results of the negotiations
will be passed on to Network members with a resulting listing of items,
costs and supplies.
The two biggest pitfalls with this concept are:
1. Insufficient demand for commonly required items.
2. Not satisfying each organization's administrative
requirements for competitive bidding on items
which are not sole-source justified.
At this time, it appears to be premature to allow this to stop the
idea. After the listing of items and range of sources are collected and
analyzed, these two points can be addressed. In fact, this project may
have to be abandoned; however, there are sufficient reasons to believe
that these problems can be overcome to make the venture workable.
We request that all members of the Network forward to the Center,
ATTN. R. F. Borelli, a descriptive listing of equipment and supplies
they require in this fiscal year. Particular attention must be paid to
listing all the acceptable alternates to increase the changes of
commonality. For example: TI-725 terminals could be considered a
substitute for Teleterms 1030's, etc. The only items excluded at this
time are 2400 ft. Magnetic Computer Tapes, tabulating cards, and
conventional computer printer paper. Any added suggestions or ideas are
both encouraged and welcomed.
A sample format of information is attached.
Sample Format of Information Requirement is as Follows:
------------------------------------------------------
Current
Estimated
Quantity Description and Special Needs Mfgr. Cost
-------- ----------------------------- ----- -----------
3 Remote Terminals Texas Instr. $4,200.00 @
Model TI-725 with upper and or
lower case Teleterms
100 rolls/mo Electro Static Printer Paper Gould $10.00/roll
Requested by:
University of Illinois
Center for Advanced Computation
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Telephone: (217) 333-6375
A listing of items not intended as all-inclusive are:
1. Gould Electrostatic Printers and printer paper.
2. Computek graphics terminals.
3. ARDS graphics terminals.
4. CRT alphanumeric terminals (Hazeltine, Datapoint, DEC, etc.).
5. Hard-copy portable terminals (TI-725, Teleterm 1030, NCR etc.).
6. Teletype (ASR and KSR-33, 35 and 37)
7. Plasma panels.
8. Plotters (CalComp, Bendix, Calma, etc.).
9. Digitizers and scanners.
10. Computers (PDP-11, PDP-10).
11. Computer peripherals (TU-56, TC-11, etc.).
12. IMLAC's.
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 12/96 ]
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§1The Proposed Study
The Center for Advanced Computation at the University of Illinois agreed to study whether it could serve as a coordinating point for equipment and supply purchases for network members. It would compile common requirements and assess whether contacting manufacturers or distributors could produce group prices.
The results, including item listings and costs, would be passed to network members.
The Illinois center planned to find out whether network members could buy common equipment together. It would report possible prices and suppliers to the members.
§2Potential Obstacles
The RFC identifies two main problems: there might not be enough demand for commonly needed items, and organizations might have competitive-bidding requirements for items that were not sole-source purchases.
The authors considered it premature to abandon the idea before collecting and analyzing the lists of items and suppliers. They also acknowledge the project might have to be abandoned.
Group buying could fail if too few members wanted the same items. Procurement rules requiring competitive bids could also make some shared purchases difficult.
§3Information Requested
Network members were asked to send a list of equipment and supplies needed during the fiscal year, including acceptable alternatives. The RFC excludes 2400-foot magnetic tapes, tabulating cards and conventional printer paper from the initial request.
It gives examples of terminals, printers, graphics equipment, plotters, digitizers, computers and peripherals that might be included.
Sites were asked to list quantities, equipment and acceptable substitutes. Some common supplies were excluded from the request.