Meanwhile, curve DE in Figure 5.7 depicts the end-user's cost of holding goods as a function of the delivery time offered. Very short delivery times (i.e., very quick delivery) incur no cost of inventory- holding. As delivery times increase, however, the end-user must speculate and buy safety stocks of product in advance of their usage, and hence, the end-user's inventory holding costs increase. Finally, curve AFG is the sum of the channel's and the end-user's cost of acquiring product offered with a particular delivery time. On the premise that the end-user must pay for all channel costs (plus some profit margin for the channel members) in the end, it is desirable to seek the lowest-total-cost method of inventory-holding. Thus, a cost-minimization orientation would direct the channel to seek the combination of postponement and speculation that corresponds with point F in Figure 5.7 because this minimizes total channel costs of providing a particular delivery time.