Last$\_$Year This$\_$Year

Inventory Carrying Costs $ $2,253,270\mathrm{.}00$ $ $563,317\mathrm{.}50$

Warehouse Operating Costs $ $5,375,250\mathrm{.}00$ $ $4,568,962\mathrm{.}50$

Store Operating Costs $ $7,952,790\mathrm{.}00$ $ $7,555,150\mathrm{.}50$

The table above shows data provided by Bear Distribution LLC$.$ regarding aspects of its supply chain operations i$.$e$.$ items, warehouses, and stores; and the differences in them between last year and this year. Given this information, and assuming all items held last year retained the same retail value and cost increases did not occur at facilities it owned last year and still own now, you can conclude that

Bear Distribution LLC embarked on an initiative to improve supply chain efficiency this year compared to last year

Bear Distribution LLC embarked on an initiative to increase supply chain responsiveness this year compared to last year

None of the above