Harley Davidson purchases components from three suppliers. Components purchased from Supplier A are priced at $ 5 each and used at the rate of 240,000 units per year. Components purchased from Supplier B are priced at $ 4 each and are used at the rate of 30,000 units per year. Components purchased from Supplier C are priced at $ 5 each and used at the rate of 10,800 units per year. Currently Harley purchases a separate truckload from each supplier. As part of its JIT drive, Harley has decided to aggregate purchases from the three suppliers. The trucking company charges a fixed cost of $ 400 for the truck with an additional charge of $100 for each stop. Thus, if Harley asks for a pickup from only one supplier, the trucking company charges $ 500; from two suppliers it charges $ 600; and from three suppliers it charges $ 700. Harley incurs a holding cost of 20% (of the price) for each component.

1) What is the minimal annual inventory cost of the new aggregate replenishment strategy ?

2) What is the minimal annual inventory cost of the Harley’s current strategy of ordering separately from each supplier ?

3) How much is the saving resulted ?