David is trying to decide if it makes sense to outsource the purchasing function. He has a chain of 12 restaurants and employs two buyers at an annual fixed cost of $85,000. David estimates that the variable cost of each purchase order placed is $15. An outsourced company will perform the purchasing function for a fixed annual fee of $100,000 plus $5 for each purchase order placed. Last year, David placed 1400 purchase orders. Required:
a. What was the in-house purchasing cost last year?
b. What would the cost be if outsourced?
c. If David estimates it will place 1600 purchase orders next year, should he outsourced?

You receive a memo from the vice president of procurement responding to your query. he writes: “it will be very important to maintain product continuity. we have a large base of devoted customers. we want to make sure that the quality and key characteristics of island knight stay the same through this transition. talk to frank, our consulting professional perfumer, for more information about the cologne. seasonal variations in costs are the single most significant factor in our deciding to go with another supplier, so finding a way to limit that should be the top priority. the overall marginal costs and shipping costs are probably somewhat less significant. you may want to talk to cindy, the product manager for island knight, regarding pricing information about the product.” what is the best action to take next?