The Development of Materials Administration

There are two, or to be more accurate, three different ways of conceiving the concept of Materials Administration. (1) MA can be conceived of as a philosophy aiming at improved effectiveness and efficiency in the company, i.e. as a rationalisation approach among others. (2) MA can be conceived of as an organisational concept focusing on organisational restructuring for increased co‐ordination of the materials flow. (3) MA can be conceived of as a combination of 1 and 2 above starting with an efficiency increasing rationalisation approach which later also has consequences for the organisational structure. According to the author's experience, the third conception is the most realistic. It has, in many cases, been possible to achieve considerable cost reduction in the materials flow without organisational changes. In other cases, however, it has been necessary to adapt and develop the organisation in order to achieve the objectives which were set.