Final answer:
C) Fulfillment centers are warehouses that serve as intermediaries shipping products directly to customers or retail stores, vital for companies like Amazon in their efficient delivery system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The warehouses that act as intermediaries between factories and customers, shipping directly to customers or to retail stores where products are made available to customers, are referred to as fulfillment centers. These centers have become a critical part of the supply chain for companies like Amazon, which has no traditional retail locations and instead relies on these low-rent locations to store and manage their inventories. Properly positioned fulfillment centers can reduce shipping costs and increase efficiency, particularly when they are near uncrowded freeways, have access to rail or water transport, and utilize high levels of automation with robots and relatively low-skilled workers to lower costs.