? a. Standard materials are used to make private-label shoes and are sourced from outside suppliers; superior materials are produced in-house and are used in branded footwear production. b. All private-label footwear is outsourced form contract manufacturers in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific at prices of $12.50 per pair. c. Branded footwear is produced round-the-clock (3 shifts per day) 5 days per week; private-label footwear is made using only 1 shift per day (due to higher production-run set-up times for private-label models/styles). d. Standard and superior materials are sourced from outside suppliers at prices that vary according to global demand-supply conditions; the company's production workers are compensated on the basis of both base pay and incentive payments per non-defective pair produced. e.TQM/Six Sigma quality control is used to reduce reject rates while best practices training is used to increase S/Q ratings and the number of different models that can be produced each week.