The Opti$-$Health pharmaceutical company is utilizing pooled resources for procurement as they expand into global markets. They are seeing several benefits from these practices and operations have been running smoothly, although some negatives do exist. Which of the following is a characteristic of pooled procurement?

Select one:

a$.$ Rediriction of costs

b$.$ Increased transparency

c$.$ Variations in costs and delays

d$.$ Changes in quality assurance levels