Your eyeglass frame-making firm is considering one of two distribution alternatives. The first is to make all shipments from your Chicago plant to one of three regional warehouses located in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Reno. All orders from eyeglass retailers would be shipped from these sites. The second alternative is to create one warehouse in Memphis and ship all orders via Federal Express.

• Prepare a process flow diagram of each alternative.
• What additional information would you need to ascertain which alternative will provide the best value to your customers?
• Is this different from a lower-cost solution? Why?