Hand Bold is a $$3$ billion company whose core products are ATMs, bank vaults, and security systems. Until the $1990$s$,$ it was a global market leader. Then, its rival NCR surpassed it in sales. As a result, Hand Bold began acquiring suppliers around the world. One company it purchased was a Brazilian manufacturer of ATMs. Around this time the Brazilian government was looking to fully automate its voting system, and Diebold got the contract through its Brazilian company. The Brazilian presidential election went off without a hitch with Hand Bold machines. Emboldened by this success, Hand Bold decided to enter the voting machine market. The U$.$S$.$ seemed a likely market, especially after the passage of the Help America Vote Act when local governments were told to replace punch$-$card voting machines with touch$-$screen machines. The big contracts meant big problems for Hand Bold. Orders were lost, manufacturing fell way behind schedule, and its technical staff was overwhelmed by the demand. In addition, allegations of the potential for voter fraud filled the Internet media and Hand Bold was labeled $"$an enemy of democracy."

Refer to Hand Bold. The decision to purchase global suppliers in order to defend against eroding market share was made using which marketing function? a$)$ goal$-$setting b$)$planning c$)$strategizing d$)$benchmarking e$)$keystoning