Introduction to Management Science 12th Edition by Bernard Taylor

Exercise 41

Suntrek is a global denim fabric and jeans manufacturer. It purchases raw, baled cotton from locations around the world (primarily the United States and Mexico) and ships it (in containers) to various factories it operates to manufacture denim fabric and jeans, primarily in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean areas. It also ships some of the fabric to other factories where it produces denim jeans. It ultimately ships all of the jeans (and a small amount of fabric) to retail clothing companies primarily in the United States, Europe, and Japan. It is considering building a new denim jeans factory with a warehousing and distribution center for baled cotton, denim fabric, and denim jeans. The five possible port locations for the new facility are Da Nang, Mumbai, Manila, Shanghai, and Karachi. Suntrek's weighted decision criteria are labor wage rates (0.20), cotton and fabric supply (0.18), shipping/transport availability and cost (0.15), infrastructure (0.12), risk (0.10), import/export regulations and tariffs (0.09), government stability (0.06), labor sustainability (0.05), and environmental sustainability (0.05). Using the Internet, research the five possible port locations and assign a grade for each location for each criterion, and determine an overall ranking of the locations for Suntrek.