Franklin Furniture, Inc. (FFI) manufactures bedroom furniture in sets (a set includes a dresser, two queen- size beds, and one bedside table) for use in motels and hotels. FFI has three customer groups, which it calls the value. quality, and luxury groups. The value products are targeted to low-price motels that are looking for simple furniture, while the luxury furniture is targeted to the very best hotels. The value line is attractive to a variety of hotels and motels that appreciate the combination of quality and value. Currently there has been a small increase in the low-cost and value lines, and an appreciable increase in demand in the luxury line, reflecting cyclical changes in the marketplace. Luxury hotels are now in more demand for business travel, while a few years ago, the value segment was the most popular for business travelers. FFI wants to be able to respond to the increased demand with increased production but worries about the increased production cost and about price setting as its mix of customers and production change. FFI has used a volume-based rate based on direct labor hours for some time. Direct labor cost is $15 per hour. Budgeted Cost Cost Driver Materials Handling $349,600 # of Parts Product Scheduling 160,000 # of Production Orders Setup Labor 216,000 # of Setups Automated Machinery 1,750,000 Machine Hours Finishing 619,500 Direct Labor Hours Pack and Ship 290,400 # of Orders Shipped $3,385,500 General, Selling, & Admin Costs $5,000,000 The budgeted production data for the three product lines follow. Product Lines Value Quality Units Produced 15000 5000 Price $650 $900 Luxury 600 $1,200 Direct Materials cost per unit $80 $50 $110 # of Parts per unit 120 Direct labor hours per unit Machine hours per unit Production orders Production Setups 20 Orders shipped 1,000 2,000 Number of Inspections Required (Round all rates to two decimal places) 1. Determine the cost per set and the total production cost of each of the three customer groups using activity-based costing. 2. Determine the production cost for each of the three customer groups using FFI's current volume-based approach 3. The activity usage data given in the problem reflects current usage of the various cost drivers to manufacture the firm's product lines. Suppose you are given the following information regarding the firm's practical capacity for each of these activities, as follows: Cost Driver # of Parts Practical Capacity 990,000 800 # of Production Orders # of Setups 200 Machine Hours 100,000 Direct Labor Hours 123,900 Number of orders shipped 5,000 Comment on how you would use this additional information for costing the firm's products and assisting in strategic planning. 4. Compare the two approaches and discuss the strategic and competitive issues of using each of the two methods