Passage 1
In order to produce goods and services, businesses need to buy the required raw materials and equipment. Many firms need to order components or equipment to their own specifications which will later be used to produce a finished product. Firms need reliable suppliers who must be:
Stable. Firms that can not supply goods in time to the purchasing company may mean delays and holdups for customers. Thus the purchasing company should check the financial background of its suppliers.
Able. The purchasing company must investigate whether potential suppliers are able to make the goods required. This may mean looking at the firm’s equipment and staff expertise if a large or important order is being considered. Some purchasing departments may ask for evidence of the firm having done similar work for other organizations before placing an order. Trade directories and specialist magazines are a useful starting point in this research.
Clear. What is required will usually be made clear in a specification. The specification or “spec” will give the exact technical details of what is needed in terms of size, shape, color and performance of the items to be purchased. The supplying firm must then meet this specification exactly.
An important problem all purchasing companies have to deal with is whether to use one or two or several suppliers. By using several suppliers it is argued that competition between them will force prices down. And delays or disruption at one supplier will not affect too much. Arguments against this are that researching various suppliers is time-consuming and expensive, and low prices might mean reduced quality. Using fewer suppliers for larger orders can mean that the purchaser receives greater attention and discount for bulk purchases. The suppliers will be more involved in the firm’s business, too.
43.Supplying firms with rich experience, good equipment and staff expertise can only be found in specialist magazines.
A、True
B、False
【正确答案】：B
【名师解析】:选项B是正确的。根据文章内容，虽然贸易目录和专业杂志是研究潜在供应商的有用起点，但并不意味着只有通过这些途径才能找到具有丰富经验、良好设备和员工专业知识的供应商。文章中提到，采购公司在考虑大型或重要订单时，会调查潜在供应商是否能够制造所需的商品，这可能包括查看公司的设备和员工专业知识，并且可能会要求提供公司为其他组织做过类似工作的证据。因此，专业杂志只是寻找合适供应商的一个起点，并不是唯一的途径。
