Part Two: Read to the bottom of this page, then stop until your teacher tells you to turn the page.   John decided he needed to learn the answers to four sets of questions. Which raw materials would he need for the rayon pulp, how much would he need of each raw material, and how much would each cost him to buy?   Which of the machines in the mill would have to be changed to produce the rayon pulp, how long would that take, and how much would that cost?   Once the mill was ready, how long would it take to produce the rayon pulp, how many millworkers would it require, and how much would that cost?   When the pulp was ready, how much would it cost to ship it from Cosmopolis through the Port of Seattle to his customer in Japan? Finding answers to these questions would not be difficult. But, with each question, John realized that there were decision points that would affect the cost of the pulp.   For instance, he knew it would be much cheaper to order five years' worth of raw materials all at once. But then he would need to pay to store them, and while that wouldn't cost very much for a small amount of chemical additive, it would cost a lot -maybe even more than the amount he would save — for the bulkier materials he needed.   He knew that actually manufacturing the wood pulp would be cheapest if he could schedule it during a time his mill was not too busy. But that would depend on how flexible his customer was willing to be. If the Japanese textile company had firm deadlines, he might have to interrupt other projects at the mill... and that would cost more.   And, John knew that the same thing would apply to shipping the finished pulp to Japan. If he could commit to a schedule well ahead of time, that would save him money. But, he didn't know if his customer might have a sudden, urgent need for the pulp. Then, John would have to hurry to ship it to Japan and he would have to pay extra to change the shipping schedule.   He had a lot of information to organize. What should he do?   Stop here until your teacher tells you to turn the page.   Click to continue previewing the student version on screen. Home Journey Log Trade Topics People Profiles Index Ask the Eagle