For some weeks the soldiers were hardly aware of his presence, then they learned that the quiet Scotsman in the black coat was saying the most laudatory things about their organization; then they found themselves marvellously improving this organization merely by acting on the most modestly given suggestions from the smooth civilian; and finally the very greatest of them discovered that somehow or another Supply had now got a wonderful "move on," and that among other things this wonderful "move on" had brought the civilian on top of them--still smooth and modest, still in the background, but absolute master of the whole machinery.
Lord Inverforth's work soon involved not merely the care of the British Armies but the care of the Allied nations.

What did he do?
Besieged by the unconscionable rascals of the world, fawning or blustering to get contracts at extraordinary prices, Lord Inverforth struck a master blow at this international cupidity by obtaining control of the principal raw materials and instituting the system of costing.

Manufacturers got their contracts on a fixed basis of profits.

Lord Inverforth knew the exact cost of every stage in the manufacture of each article he bought, and he saw that the manufacturer received from the taxpayer only a small percentage of profit on that cost.
The greatest thing he did at that time, and the bravest, for he did it without authorization and at a cost of L250,000,000, was to buy up the Australasian wool-clip from 1917 to 1920.

In this way Germany was doomed to defeat.