1. Select one of the companies described and write a short paper (no more than two pages) about the type of inventory control techniques that the business should use. Explain what would be an appropriate number of suppliers for this company and why you chose this number.
2. Effective inventory management also means being ready to cope with problems. Divide into groups based on the companies you selected in Question 1, and discuss how you could design an inventory system that would adapt to “shocks” like the ones described here.

Costume Specialists, Inc.
Storybook characters like Madeline, Babar the Elephant, and even Stinky Cheese Man come alive under the watchful eye of Wendy Goldstein of Columbus, Ohio. Her company, Costume Specialists, fashions the complicated costumes for these characters from scratch and sells the creations to book publishers and bookstore chains. Each costume takes about 60 to 80 hours of artistic effort and costs up to $3,000 in materials and labor to produce. Goldstein’s business brings in $600,000 annually.