Operations Research

Course Code: IPE 3103

Chapter 5
transportation Model

Instructor: Md. Rasel Sarkar, Asst. Professor

Dept. of IPE, RUET, Bangladesh
Academic Session: 2019-20
Transportation Model
The transportation problem seeks to minimize the
total shipping costs of transporting goods from m
origins or sources (each with a supply ai) to n
destinations (each with a demand bj), when the unit
shipping cost from source, i, to a destination, j, is cij.
Network Representation
• There are m sources and n destinations, each
represented by a node.
• The arcs represent the routes linking the sources
and the destinations.
• Arc (i, j) joining source i to destination j carries two
pieces of information: the transportation cost per
unit, cij, and the amount shipped, xij.
• The amount of supply at source i is ai, and the
amount of demand at destination j is bj.
• The objective of the model is to minimize the total
transportation cost while satisfying all the supply
and demand restrictions.
LP Formulation
The linear programming formulation in terms of minimize
the total transportation cost can be written as:
Min cijxij (total transportation cost)
ij
s.t. xij < ai for each source i (supply constraints)
j
xij = bj for each destination j (demand constraints)
i
xij > 0 for all i and j (nonnegativity constraints)
Example 5.3-1 (SunRay
Transport)
SunRay Transport Company ships truckloads of grain
from three silos to four mills. The supply (in
truckloads) and the demand (also in truckloads)
together with the unit transportation costs per
truckload on the different routes are summarized in
Table. The unit transportation costs, cij (shown in the
northeast corner of each box), are in hundreds of
dollars. The model seeks the minimum cost shipping
schedule between the silos and the mills.
The Transportation Algorithm
Step 1. Determine a starting basic feasible solution, and go to
step 2.

Step 2. Use the optimality condition of the simplex method to

determine the entering variable from among all the nonbasic
variables. If the optimality condition is satisfied, stop.
Otherwise, go to step 3.

Step 3. Use the feasibility condition of the simplex method to

determine the leaving variable from among all the current
basic variables, and find the new basic
solution. Return to step 2.
Step 1. Determination of the
Starting Solution
• A general transportation model with m sources and n
destinations has m + n constraint equations.
• However, because the transportation model is always
balanced (sum of the supply = sum of the demand), one of
the equations is redundant.
• Thus, reducing the model to m + n - 1 independent
equations and m + n - 1 basic variables.

Three methods –
1. Northwest-corner method
2. Least-cost method
3. Vogel approximation method
Northwest-corner method
The starting basic solution is x11 = 5, x12 = 10, x22 = 5, x23 = 15,
x24 = 5, x34 = 10.
The associated cost of the schedule is z = 5 * 10 + 10 * 2 + 5 *
7 + 15 * 9 + 5 * 20 + 10 * 18 = $520.
Least-cost method
Vogel approximation method
Step 2. Determination of entering
variable
• Following the determination of the starting solution,
the next step is to check the solution for optimality i.e.
checking the coefficients of the objectives function.
• This is done in the usual manner using the same
optimality condition in the simplex method, the only
difference is in the method of computing the
coefficients of the objective function.
• The determination of the entering variable from
among the current non basic variables is done by
computing the non basic coefficients in the z-row,
using the method of multipliers.
Method of Multipliers
The dual problem of transportation model becomes:

Subject to

where
ai = Supply amount at source i
bj = Demand amount at destination j
cij = Unit transportation cost from source i to destination j
ui = Dual variable of the constraint associated with source i
vj = Dual variable of the constraint associated with destination j
From Formula 2, Section 4.2.4, the objective-function
coefficients:

= ui + vj – cij

For each basic variable this quantity must equal zero,

which produces the following result:
ui + vj = cij, for each basic variable xij

The entering variable is determined from all the non basic

variables as the one having the largest positive ui + vj - cij.
Step 2. Continued…
• Iteration 0 (Northwest corner rule)
For each basic variable xij, we get from ui + vj = cij

We will arbitrarily set u1 = 0, and then solving for the

remaining variables we have,
u1 = 0, u2 = 5, u3 = 3, v1 = 10, v2 = 2, v3 = 4, v4 = 15
Next, we use ui and vj to evaluate the non basic
variables by computing ui + vj – cij, for each non
basic xij.

The z-row of the simplex tableau

Thus, x31 is the entering variable.
All the preceding computations are usually done
directly on the transportation tableau as shown in
Table, meaning that it is not necessary to write the
(u, v)-equations explicitly. cij
xij
ui - vj - cij
Step 3. Determination of leaving
variable
The leaving variable is determined in the following
manner –
 First, construct a closed loop that starts and ends at
the entering variable cell (3, 1).
 The loop consists of connected horizontal and
vertical segments only (no diagonals are allowed)
whose corner elements must coincide with a
current basic variable.
 Next, we assign the amount to the entering
variable cell (3, 1).
 Subtract and add the amount at the successive
corners of the loop (clockwise/ counterclockwise).
 Allocate to as much as possible so that –
- Supply limits and demand requirements remain
satisfied.
- values remain nonnegative.
Iteration 1

• The corresponding maximum value of is 5, which

occurs in both x11 and x22
• Ties are broken arbitrarily but it may be advantageous
to break the tie by selecting the variable with the higher
unit cost. Hence choose x11 as the leaving variable.
The values of the basic variables at the corners of
the closed loop are adjusted to accommodate
setting x31 = 5, as Table 5.16 shows.

Repeat the computation of the multipliers u and v,

as Table 5.16 shows. The entering variable is x14.
The closed loop shows that x14 = 10 and that the
leaving variable is x24.
Iteration 2
Iteration 3

The new values of ui + vj - cij are now negative for all

non basic xij. Thus, the solution in Table 5.17 is
optimal.
The following table summarizes the optimum solution:

Objective value/ optimal cost:

=
= $435
Assignment Model
• It consists of assigning a specific (worker or machine) to a
specific (task or job) assuming that there are the number
of persons equal to the number of tasks (job) available.
• The assignment model is a special case of the
transportation model where workers represent sources
and jobs represent destinations.
• The supply (demand) amount at each source (destination)
exactly equals 1.
• The assignment model can be solved as a regular
transportation model (or as a regular LP). Nevertheless,
the fact that all the supply and demand amounts equal 1
has led to the development of a simple solution algorithm
called the Hungarian method.
The Hungarian Method
• Step 1. Determine pi, the minimum cost element of row i
in the original cost matrix, and subtract it from all the
elements of row i, i = 1, 2, 3.
• Step 2. For the matrix created in step 1, determine qj, the
minimum cost element of column j, and subtract it from
all the elements of column j, j = 1, 2, 3.
• Step 3. From the matrix in step 2, attempt to find a
feasible assignment among all the resulting zero entries.
3a. If such an assignment can be found, it is optimal.
3b. If no feasible assignments can be found –
(i) Draw a minimum number of lines through some of
the rows and columns such that al the zeros are cross
out.
(ii) Select the smallest uncrossed element and subtract
from every uncrossed element and then add it to
every element at the intersection of two lines.
(iii) Repeat 3(b) if the optimal solution had not been
obtained yet.
(iv) If any job can not be assigned to any worker, then
assign M (large value) to that element.
Example 5.4-1
# Consider the assignment problem
Optimal Assignment
(John , Paint), (Karen , Mow), (Terri, wash)

Total cost:
9 + 10 + 8 = $27
Example 5.4-2
• Consider the assignment problem

Step 1:
Step 2

Step 3

Optimal Assignment
(1, 1), (2, 3), (3, 2), (4, 4)
Optimal cost = $1+ $10+$5+$5 = $21
 Transshipment model
The transportation model assumes direct
shipments between sources and destinations.
Situation arises where it may not be economical.
The transshipment model is an extension of the
classical transportation model where an item
available at point i is shipped to demand point j
through one or more intermediate points.
An example of a transshipment point is a
distribution center or warehouse located between
plants and stores.