Buying Bulk Buffers Against Just-in-Time Supply

“Shopping at Costco is ridiculous—I don’t need to buy a case of [name any consumer product] at a time!” This often-heard opinion may get a laugh in comedy clubs and cocktail parties, but it indicates to me that the speaker has done very little critical thinking about the state of our world. Modern society has become a hostage to the concept of just-in-time supply. Bulk suppliers such as Costco offer a buffer against that potentially catastrophic practice.

Before I explain myself, allow me to admit that storage can be an issue for those who buy necessaries in bulk, particularly for urban apartment dwellers. Many families simply don’t have room to store goods until they’re needed. I’ll suggest solutions for this later.

The trade off to crowded storage is economy and security. In almost all cases (as it were) bulk buying reduces the per-item cost of goods. As a general rule, the more packaging involved, the more a consumer pays for the product. Three 10-pound bags of flour will almost always cost more than one 30-pound bag.

Therefore, buying any commodity that your family uses regularly in bulk will save you money over the long run. Why buy a single roll of toilet paper at a time, or a pack of six, if you can manage to store a package of 36 or more? You’ll certainly need that paper soon enough. Even shaving a few pennies off each roll will save you money before long.

Perhaps more importantly, buying in bulk provides security.

Just-in-time supply delivers goods to consumers as needed. Instead of storing goods in a warehouse until they’re sold, the products are delivered from the factory a bit at a time. Apparently, it improves the corporate bottom line, so it tends to be presented as the best, most logical way to get goods into consumers’ hands. Inevitably, what works best for the corporations becomes the only way to do it, in “common knowledge.”

However, just-in-time supply operates on the assumption that everything will go as planned. It assumes the exact number of sales units consumers need will be produced by the factory, or farm, or wherever it comes from. It assumes that these will be delivered over roads, or rails, by sea or by air on schedule, unhindered by weather, landslides, earthquakes, traffic snarls, potholes, or myriad other conditions. It assumes that consumers will promptly buy all the available units immediately, to make room for the next shipment, which will also arrive “just in time.”

Generally, these are safe assumptions. More often than not, things go as expected.

But not always.

The most recent example came when the west coast experienced an unusually severe snowstorm. The I-5 corridor, including Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and points beyond shut down. Snow restricted road travel; ice- and snow-laden trees and power lines fell, causing power outages. The just-in-time supply line, bringing food and other commodities, and power, began to fail.

Aly’s college, within the I-5 corridor, closed down. The school’s commissaries remained open, but quickly ran out of fresh food. Suppliers couldn’t get new food into the campus, and with power disruption, what fresh food they had on hand quickly spoiled.

These conditions meant very little to Aly. Her life on the homestead prepared her for it. She and her roommate had plenty of food, and means to prepare it in their room. They improvised solutions when the power went out. All in all, they had a great time—Aly’s only regret was missing out on class, and that things never got bad enough for her to use her pocket woodstove.

We are seeing a sharp increase in obstacles to just-in-time supply. Our infrastructure is crumbling through neglect and lack of funding. Severe weather conditions are becoming more common. Expediters in the just-in-time chain are disappearing because of economic troubles and mismanagement. There’s very little most individuals can do about this, but one simple way to create a buffer for your family is to buy in quantity from those “ridiculous” bulk suppliers.

_____________________________________

Mark Zeiger is a regular contributor to Self Reliance Works. He and his family homestead off the grid in Southeast Alaska. Learn more about their life through their photos and blog at AKZeigers.com.