You are doing price tests of raw materials inventory for the Merties Manufacturing Company using statistical sampling. Your sampling plan calls for a random sample of 125 part numbers. Since you are using FIFO inventory valuation, it is essential that you obtain a random sample of part numbers. Part numbers include a variety of alphabetical prefixes and a large range of numbers. For example, part number AC 467 is followed by ACX 46738.
Inventory is included on inventory pages in part number order, by location. There are approximately 4,000 different part numbers in two locations. There are between 40 and 50 part numbers on each page. The reason for fewer than 50 part numbers on a page is that occasionally the description of the part takes up two lines. There are 94 pages. Included in the raw-materials inventory are 200 lines with finished goods. These items have been clearly identified by the client and are being tested separately by the auditor.
Neither pages nor lines are numbered. Approximately 80 of the pages include inventory for location 1. Approximately 25 percent of the items included in the listing of location 2’s inventory are of the same description as those in location 1. The remaining 75 percent part numbers are included only in location 2.

a. Why would systematic sampling be difficult to use for obtaining a random sample in this situation ?

b. Establish a numbering system for the population and a correspondence between the random number table and the population.

c. Describe in detail a method'you can use to obtain the random sample of 125 raw materials part numbers. The method must be unbiased and reasonably efficient. Keep in mind that there are unnumbered pages and lines, missing lines, some part numbers listed in two different places, and finished goods included with the raw materials. Your description should include the appropriate sampling unit, method of reading the table, and definition of discards.