Borges Machine Shop, Inc., has a $1-$year contract for the production of $250,000$ gear housings for a new off$-$road

vehicle. Owner Luis Borges hopes the contract will be extended and the volume increased next year. Borges has

developed costs for three alternatives. They are general$-$purpose equipment $($GPE$),$ flexible manufacturing

system $($FMS$),$ and expensive, but efficient, dedicated machine $($DM$).$ The cost data follow:

Based on the cost, the process that is best suited for the current contracted volume is: FMS$,$ GPE, or DM