Nora's company plans to export a line of boots to a French wholesaler. Since this is a new export, her company wants to be paid for the boots prior to shipping them; however, the wholesale company in France refuses to pay for the boots until they are received. To solve this problem, the companies could rely on a trusted third party such as a bank, which acts as a(n) .

The purchasing agent for a company that assembles and sells air-conditioning equipment in a latin american country noted that the cost of compressors has increased significantly each time they have been reordered. the company uses an eoq model to determine order size. what are the implications of this price escalation with respect to order size? what factors other than price must be taken into consideration?