It was a hot, humid afternoon in February, and Matt could feel the pressure mounting. The memo on his desk read, $$Please see me immediately!$$ Matt knew that, sooner or later, his boss, Lance Foster, would ask him to implement some quick remedies to improve the profit situation. The quarterly financial statement has just been published. For the fourth quarter in a row, The Dependable Pipe Company had reported a sharp drop in earnings per share despite being irate, and the public relations department had been inundated with calls from concerned shareholders wondering what was happening. In fact, at an annual general meeting held last quarter, the shrinking profits of the firm were the main topic of discussion. It led to the early retirement of the Chief Financial Officer, Ed Harley.

The Dependable Pipe Company was headquartered in Delaware and established manufacturing facility in Illinois. California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. It specializes in manufacturing hire$-$grate copper piping of various thicknesses and circular dimensions. The pipes were used primarily in commercial and residential applications. $70\%$ of its sales were for exports to the United Kingdom, while the rest came from sales to wholesalers in the USA.