A map will be provided and your group will have 15 minutes to discuss the questions above and prepare a group response. In order to participate meaningfully in this class exercise, it is important that you prepare for the case. In order for you to be assigned to a group, you must have completed the background sheet posted in Brightspace. By filling this sheet out, you are demonstrating that you have prepared the case and are ready to add to the group discussion. This background sheet must be submitted by the deadline stated in Brightspace's assignment section in order to be grouped with other students. Background sheets submitted after that but before the class exercise starts will still be accepted but not grouped with other students. Background sheets submitted after the class exercise starts will not be accepted. The background sheet counts as 25% of your grade for this exercise. The answers for the background sheet and some of the group questions you will answer during class come from the case on the next page as well as identified pages in the Heizer \& Render text. American International Automotive Industries (AIAI) manufactures auto and truck engine, transmission, and chassis parts for manufacturers and repair companies in the United States, South America, Canada, Mexico, Asia and Europe. The company transports to its foreign markets by container ships. To serve its customers in South America and Asia, AIAI has large warehouse/distribution centers. In Europe it ships into Hamburg and Gdansk, where it has contracted with independent distribution companies to deliver its products to customers throughout Europe. However, AIAI has been displeased with a recent history of late deliveries and rough handling of its products which causes products to be delivered in poor condition. For a time AIAI was not overly concerned since its European market wasn't too big and its European customers didn't complain. Plus, it had more pressing supply chain problems elsewhere. But since trade barriers have fallen in Europe and Eastern European markets have opened up, its European business has expanded, as has new competition, and its customers have become more demanding and quality conscious. As a result, AIAI has initiated the process to select a location for a new European warehouse/distribution center. Although it provides parts to a number of smaller truck and auto maintenance and service centers in Europe, it has seven major customers in Vienna, Leipzig, Budapest, Prague, Krakow, Munich, and Frankfurt. Its customers in Vienna and Budapest have adopted manufacturing processes requiring continuous replenishment of parts and materials. AIAI's European headquarters is in Hamburg. The vice-president for construction and development in Dayton, Ohio has asked the Hamburg office to do a preliminary search for a distribution center location based on geography, transportation, proximity to customers, and costs. The Hamburg office has identified five possible cities for further consideration: Dresden, Lodz, Hamburg, Gdansk, and Frankfurt. The Hamburg office has forwarded information about each of these locations to corporate headquarters, including forecasts of the number of containers shipped annually to each customer as follows: Vienna, 160; Leipzig, 100; Budapest, 180; Prague, 210; Krakow, 90; Munich, 120; Frankfurt, 50. When the vice-president of construction received this information, he pulled out his map of Europe and began to study the location