Microsys Corp is located in Seattle, Washington. The company has developed the Websurfer, a low$-$cost

high$-$speed wireless email and web$-$surfing appliance. This product is manufactured at two plants, located

in Atlanta, and Seattle from parts sourced from domestic and international suppliers. After production,

Websurfer are shipped to three of its regional distribution centers $($RDC$)$ located in San Jose and

Houston to serve the USA market.

Microsys sells the Websurfer mainly through retail channels. Its major customers selling the Websurfer

are$-$GameStop, Best Buy and STEAM. According to contractual agreement, Microsys makes weekly

shipments to the main warehouses $($W$)$ of these three retailers. The company uses its own fleet to supply

the RDCs on a regular basis using TL shipping with an average cost per box with $10$ units given in the

table below:

Current distribution design calls for shipments from the RDCs to main warehouses specified by the

customers. The customer is responsible for the pickup at the main warehouses and shipping to their retail

stores. The company uses LTL shipments $($via $3$PL contractor$)$ from RDCs to customers' warehouses.

Shipping costs, and the weekly demand for boxes of $10$ units are given in the table below:

Assist Microsys with the design of this service network

a$.$ Draw a network diagram representation for this problem.

b$.$ Develop a production and distribution plan in Excel for Microsys Corp. that will minimize its

service cost.

c$.$ Illustrate the final configuration of the service network

d$.$ Provide a transportation analytics report for this proposal. Break down distribution costs.

e$.$ If Memphis needs $100$ more boxes, which RDC should supply? At what additional cost?

f$.$ Microsys is studying the possibility of supplying warehouses directly from plants using a

dropship model. This initial negotiation with a carrier would allow a regular supply from Atlanta

to Orlando for an estimated cost of $$8\mathrm{.}5$ per box. What would change in the initial

configuration? If the carrier increases cost by $$1,$ would this option still make business sense?

g$.$ If the dropship model at $$8\mathrm{.}5$ per box from Atlanta to Orlando is limited to no more than $150$

boxes per week due to carrier capacity, how would that change the dropship model developed

in f$)?$