Question 1

Your firm's Christmas tree division in Oregon wants to export a shipload of Christmas trees to the Philippines. The would-be importer does not have sufficient cash to pay for the shipment but insists that the trees can quickly be resold in the Philippines for a profit, because Christmas trees are rare in a country where celebrating Christmas is important.

You are being asked to outline the options the division can consider to make this export happen. And if you suggest a particular option, you will have to outline the steps to effect the export to the Philippines.

Question 2

Your firm must decide whether to make a component part in-house or to contract it out to an independent supplier. Manufacturing the part requires a nonrecoverable investment in specialized assets.

The most efficient suppliers are located in countries with currencies that many foreign exchange analysts expect to appreciate substantially over the next decade. What are the pros and cons of (a) manufacturing the component in-house and (b) outsourcing manufacturing to an independent supplier? Which option would you recommend? Why?

Question 3

Your company is seeking to locate a regional hub in Southeast Asia because of the growth of its business in that region.

The intention is for this hub to be the major transshipment point in the region - all of your firm's products coming from the United States and to be sold in the countries in the region will be shipped to this hub and then shipped to specific countries within the region.

Your planning unit has been tasked to recommend the right country in which to locate this hub, and of course to justify your recommendation in terms of dealing with customs, quality of transport, and all the necessary logistics functions.

Your manager has advised you that the World Bank has Logistics Performance Index which provides a ranking of the trade logistics performance of member countries. Your manager has reminded you to make sure this report is written properly.