EXERCISE | TRANSPORTATION MODEL

1) A transportation problem requires supplies at four sources and five destinations.

Table 1 shows the cost of shipping one unit from one source to a particular destination:
Table 1
DESTINATION
SOURCE TOTAL
A B C D E
1 12 4 9 10 9 55
2 8 1 6 6 5 45
3 1 12 4 7 7 30
4 10 15 6 9 4 50
TOTAL 40 20 50 30 40

a) Is the transportation balanced?

b) Find the initial solution to the transportation problem and the total cost using:
a. Northwest corner method
b. Least Cost method
c. Vogel’s approximation method
c) Determine the optimal solution and the minimum total cost.
(60 marks)

2) TC Transportation Company’s CEO requests to see next month's log hauling schedule
for their three new project sites. Their company provides trucks for site-clearing
work for new construction sites. They want to ensure they keep a steady, adequate
flow of logs to this site, and their priority is to minimise the cost of transportation.
The distance from each site to each depot is in Table F. The average haul cost is RM 2
per kilometre for both trips (empty and loaded trucks).
The logging supervisor estimated the truckloads of logs coming off each depot daily.
The number of truckloads varies because hauling patterns are unique for each site.
Then, the supervisor of this new construction site estimated the truckloads of logs
their site needs each day. All these estimates are in Table 2.

Table 2
Distance to Site (km)
Plant Supply
Factory ‘000
A B C

Depot 1 8 10 22 30
Depot 2 10 20 30 35
Depot 3 22 20 12 30
Demand
40 30 45
‘000
a) Determine the initial feasible solution using the following:
a. Northwest Corner Method
b. Least Cost Method
c. Vogel approximation
b) Determine the optimal solution to minimise total cost using the stepping stone
Method.
(60 marks)

GOOD LUCK