STEADYING BUSINESS 
place frequently and abruptly, the building up of large stocks 
of finished or even semi-finished goods is hazardous, unless 
supported by actual orders. And even in the more standard 
lines a conservative producer often hesitates to manufacture 
except on order. 
In a time when ‘“hand-to-mouth buying” is as widely 
prevalent among dealers as it has been since 1920, it is not so 
easy to secure such orders. Having gone to one extreme 
during the orgy of inflated orders in 1919-20, many of them 
have since gone to the other extreme, ignoring certain im- 
portant economies made possible by advance orders, regulated 
within reasonable limits. Inducements, such as deferred 
dating, discounts, special guarantee of delivery and of quality, 
must be offered to the wholesaler, jobber, or retailer; and even 
then the advantages have to be shown strongly and repeatedly 
before they become appreciated. 
A manufacturer of Christmas novelties sends his salesmen 
out on the road with samples throughout the year, and is able 
to book orders long in advance of the consumer’s demand, be- 
cause his customers have been educated to see the advantage 
of having their delivery guaranteed to an extent impossible 
under the former practice of last-minute ordering. A silk 
hosiery mill reports a slight increase in the willingness of 
dealers to order ahead. 
The Knox Hat Company has had great success in stabilizing 
factory operation. In the words of President Frercmer H. 
MontGoMERY: “We now get much more even production 
the year around. Formerly, there were two seasonal drops 
during which production fell to about 3,000 dozen hats below 
normal. Anyone knows what that does to costs. By educa- 
ting our customers to the desirability of placing part of their 
orders so that we can keep the factory on them during the off- 
season, we have greatly reduced the extent of these slumps. 
Every year more of the dealers help us in this.”* 
* Factory, January, 1925, p. 22.