Weston Manufacturing uses activity$-$based management to reduce or eliminate non$-$value$-$added activities from its value chain.

The company's Human Resources Department $($HR$)$ has an annual budget of of $$3$ million. Of this amount, $$1$ million is assigned to the payroll processing cost pool.

There are $3$ activities associated with the payroll processing cost pool, and each is responsible for driving the following amounts of the pool's total cost:

$(1)60\%$ are driven by transaction activities

$(2)35\%$ are driven by labor activities

$(3)5\%$ are driven by supply consumption activities.

The HR Department has an opportunity to purchase a new computer system costing $$240,000.$ The only cost savings that would result relate to the payroll processing cost pool.

Specifically, the new system would reduce:

transaction activities by $8\%$

labor activities by $20\%$

supply consumption activities by $4\%$

If the expected reduction in non$-$value$-$added costs is accurate, the company will recover the cost of the $$240,000$ investment in $---$How many years?