4) Case Study Selecting a location using the factor-rating method. Superior Pump is a leader in submersible sump pumps for home and commercial use. Superior's sales are dominated (60 percent) by its 12 off-the-shelf products that are sold through company-owned and independent distributor channels to retailers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The remaining 40 percent of sales is a mixture of assemble- and make-to-order (customized) pumps. Currently, management is looking to expand direct coverage by building a distribution facility on the west coast. In consideration of sites, management is particularly concerned about labor, transportation, infrastructure, and facilities costs. As the operations manager at Superior Pump, you have been asked to provide your expert opinion concerning the new location. The executive team members have done a lot of work narrowing down the locations and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of three possible sites: Seattle, San Diego, and Denver. They have also carefully detailed what critical decision issues need to be considered and have actually rated them on a scale of 1 to 100. The results of their efforts appear in the following worksheet. Your responsibility is to weigh the importance of each location decision issue based on management's goals and then to make a recommendation based on your findings. Use the worksheet to determine your answer. Weighted Scores Seattle San Diego Denver 45 Denver 50 55 60 Site Scores (100 points) Decision Issue Weight Seattle San Diego Labor costs 35 25 Labor availability 75 18 85 Transportation costs 55 50 Transportation availability 15 70 851 Taxes 5 65 10 Quality of life 8 75 85 infrastructure costs 7 70 80 Facilities cost 40 55 Total 00 80 80 60 70 Totals Based on your calculations, the optimal site is: (show all work) Now, If all things stayed the same except - you changed the weight of Transportation availability from 15% to 5% and Facilities cost from 15% to 25%. What are the new weighted scores