O'Donnell & Joyce purchases components from three suppliers. Components purchased from Supplier A are priced at $7$ each and used at the rate of $18,000$ units per month. Components purchased from Supplier B are priced at $5$ each and are used at the rate of $4,500$ units per month. Components pur$-$

chased from Supplier C are priced at $9$ each and used at the rate of $1000$ units per month. Currently, O'Donnell & Joyce pur$-$ chases a separate truckload from each sup$-$ plier. As part of its JIT drive, O'Donnell & Joyce has decided to aggregate purchases from the three suppliers. The trucking com$-$ pany charges a fixed cost of $550$ for the truck with an additional charge of $120$ for each stop. Thus, if O'Donnell & Joyce asks for a pickup from only one supplier, it charges $670$; from two suppliers, it charges $790$; and from three suppliers, it charges $910.$ What replenishment strategy would you suggest for O'Donnell & Joyce to mini$-$ mize annual costs? Assume an annual hold$-$ ing cost of $25$ percent per year. Compare the cost of your strategy from each supplier.