Final answer:
Transportation is the logistics component illustrated by the retailer's use of trucks to transport products from a central location to regional centers and then to retail outlets. The importance of transportation is also echoed in the supply chain strategies of companies like Amazon and Coca-Cola.
Option 'a' is the correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The logistics component of the supply chain described in the student's question is Transportation. This component involves the movement of products from one location to another, as illustrated by the retailer receiving products at a central location and using a fleet of trucks to deliver these products to regional distribution centers. From there, local delivery agents further transport the products to retail outlets.
The efficient management of transportation within the supply chain is crucial to ensure timely delivery and lower transportation costs, which is also emphasized by the examples of Amazon's and Coca-Cola's operations.
Amazon's strategy of holding inventories in highly computerized warehouses in low-rent locations and Coca-Cola's shipping of concentrated syrup to local bottling plants are both ways of optimizing transportation costs and logistics efficiency.