1. Acme Manufacturing buys raw materials from Apex Unlimited. Acme gives Apex a monthly forecast of what it thinks it will buy and pays for the goods within 30 days of receipt. Better Retailing, Inc., is one of Acme’s customers. It provides Acme with data that record the sales of Acme’s products at Better Retailing’s checkout counters. Better Retailing pays for the goods it receives from Acme within 30 days of when the products sell. Do Acme, Apex, and Better Retailing constitute a supply chain?

Explain your answer.