Clayton McNulty, owner of McNulty's Muscular Materials (MMM), is sitting in his dim office located at the top of an old brown brick building, in an industrial area of South Boston. Clayton had just gotten off the phone with Sarah Holden, his longtime friend and sole supplier of his most popular fabric, when his telephone rings again. This call is from John Masterson, his number-one client.

"Clay Buddy," John says. "Just got off the phone with the owner of Southside Sluggers. Guess who got the New Jersey contract? That's right, pal, and I want you to get 'em to me. That'll be 10,000 jerseys, and I need them by the end of the month. How much do you love me, Clay baby? I'll get you the designs by Monday. Ciao."

Clayton hangs up the phone, stares out of his small, double-paned office window and watches the rain slide down the glass. Sure, Clayton was excited about the large bid, but how was he to produce the baseball jerseys in time? The season was to start in three months. The one-month deadline was dead-locked, and there was no room for negotiation. The fans will want the new merchandise before the season gets under way.

MMM was a small sports attire manufacturer that primarily focused on making jerseys for local sports teams. Luckily, the factory had been set up for expansion and was capable of handling a production of this magnitude. But where would he get the needed fabric to produce such a large volume? The most he had ever had to produce was one-tenth of the size that John had just ordered. A big order like this means big publicity, and more orders were sure to start rolling in over the next few months.

A call to Sarah confirms his suspicions. She can't produce that much fabric in such a short amount of time. He needs another supplier, and he needs one fast. It's a rainy day in South Boston, and Clayton McNulty has some tough decisions to make.

Case Questions What potential options does Clayton have to procure the needed volume of fabrics to meet the deadline? What are the trade-offs for each of these potential options? What should Clayton do? What lessons can be learned from Clayton's situation?