There is a retailer called "The Coop" which carries a wide variety of products with MIT's name and logo: shirts, caps, keychains, pens... you name it! Anything from golf balls and teddy bears to pocket protectors and jewelry. With a store inside MIT's Student Center and another one in the popular Kendall Square, across the street from the MIT campus, The Coop is a favorite stop for casual MIT visitors, current students and their relatives, and nostalgic alumni. The Coop carries a line of products that feature MIT's official seal cast in jewelry-grade steel. The same seal (about the size of a coin) is used in multiple finished goods, such as necklaces, tie pins, cufflinks, and paperweights. The Coop is considering introducing a new line of products featuring MIT's seal cast in 18 karat gold in 2018. These seals would be used in upscale jewelry and as an ornament in the diploma frames that sell especially during commencement season. Based on their experience with similar products in the past, The Coop has projected the following demand for gold MIT seals for each month of 2018. January: 130 February: 30 March: 60 April: 50 May: 200 June: 550 July: 180 August: 140 September: 60 October: 50 November: 100 December: 250 The seals would be produced, under license, by Seventh Seal, a specialty manufacturer of commemorative seals cast in precious metals located in Syracuse, New York. Seventh Seal has offered to produce the gold MIT seals exclusively for The Coop. Seventh Seal has explained to The Coop that there is a cost to setting up the equipment to produce the gold MIT seal. Because of this, Seventh Seal will charge The Coop a set-up cost of

1.68 per seal per month. Because of the high holding costs, that manager proposes doing monthly batches in the amount of seals that will be required that month, according to the demand projection. "This will save us a lot of money in holding costs," she says. They ask for your help in evaluating some alternatives. Part 1 What is the total cost (e.g. the sum of set-up costs and holding costs) of producing the gold seals using a lot-for-lot (or chase) approach?

Part 2

What is the total cost (e.g. the sum of set-up costs and holding costs) of producing the gold seals using a one-time run approach?

Part 3

What is the total cost (e.g. the sum of set-up costs and holding costs) of producing the gold seals using a Silver-Meal algorithm?

Part 4

What is the total cost (e.g. the sum of set-up costs and holding costs) of producing the gold seals using an optimal solution?