Meile Machine Shop, Inc., has a 1-year contract for the production of gear housings for a new off-road vehicle. Owner Laura Meile hopes the contract will be extended and the volume increased next year. Meile has developed costs for three alternatives. They are: general-purpose equipment (GPE), flexible manufacturing system (FMS)LOADING..., and expensive but efficient dedicated machine (DM). The cost data follow: General-Purpose Equipment (GPE) Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) Dedicated Machine (DM) Annual contracted units Annual fixed cost Per unit variable cost Part 2 Based on the total cost, the process that is best suited for the current contracted volume is FMS.