Above & Beyond Designs is the second largest producer of high quality coated fabrics used for outdoor awnings for fine homes, restaurants, and hotels, and in other applications as wells as for boat covers. Above & Beyond Designs sells fabric directly to the thousands of awning fabricators who serve customers in their local markets. Once a consumer selects a fabric from a sample and tells a fabricator what to make, the fabricator calls the regional Above & Beyond Designs sales rep and places an order. Each week's orders are then processed through the home office and the bulky fabric is shipped by truck to the fabricator from either the company's east coast or west coast warehouse. This approach reduces transportation costs and makes it easier to manage the inventory in the warehouse. Although many fabricators are loyal to Above & Beyond Designs fabric, a new competitor from Europe has been taking a share of the market, apparently in large part because it is able to fill orders within a week rather than the three weeks it takes, on average, for Above & Beyond Designs. The Above & Beyond Designs marketing manager does not expect the new competitor to be able to survive, however, because its delivered prices are about 10 percent higher

1. Identify the major physical distribution problem(s) and
2. Make specific suggestions about how you might improve the strategy.