____________ is a cost-effective way that many companies outsource the production of goods, such as clothing, shoes, and cell phones. The domestic firm contracts with a foreign company to produce and private-label the goods, because the price is much cheaper than the domestic firm could produce in its' home market.
a. Franchisingb. Foreign direct investmentc. Contract manufacturingd. Exporting

Contract manufacturing is a business model in which a company approaches a manufacturer with a design and requests a contract to produce a certain number of units at a cost. The cost of the contract manufacturer is based on work, material costs and the difficulty of the process, while the company focuses on design, marketing and sales. In general, the companies they hire will request quotes from several manufacturers per contract in a bidding process before finally choosing one.