Fourth Year of Engineering

MEC 486: Project Planning

Lecture 6: Transportation Planning
(Part2)
Prof. Mohamed Ibrahim

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 Outline
 Transportation Modeling
 Developing an Initial Solution
 The Northwest-Corner Rule
 The Intuitive Lowest-Cost Method
 The Stepping-Stone Method
 Special Issues in Modeling
 Demand Not Equal to Supply
 Degeneracy
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 Learning Objectives
When you complete this module you
should be able to:
1. Develop an initial solution to a
transportation models with the
northwest-corner and intuitive
lowest-cost methods
2. Solve a problem with the stepping-
stone method
3. Balance a transportation problem
4. Solve a problem with degeneracy
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 Transportation Modeling
 An interactive procedure that finds
the least costly means of moving
products from a series of sources
to a series of destinations
 Can be used to
help resolve
distribution
and location
decisions
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 Transportation Modeling
 A special class of linear
programming
 Need to know
1. The origin points and the capacity
or supply per period at each
2. The destination points and the
demand per period at each
3. The cost of shipping one unit from
each origin to each destination
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 Transportation example
• The following example was used to demonstrate
the formulation of the transportation model.
• Bath tubes are produced in plants in three
different cities—Des Moines , Evansville , and
Fort Lauder , tube is shipped to the distributers
in railroad , . Each plant is able to supply the
following number of units , Des Moines 100 units,
Evansville 300 units and Fort Lauder 300
units
• tubes will shipped to the distributers in three
cities Albuquerque , Boston, and Cleveland ,the
distribution requires the following unites ;
Albuquerque 300 units , Boston 200 units and
Cleveland 200 units C-6
 Shipping cost per unit
To
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland
Des Moines $5 $4 $3
Evansville $8 $4 $3
Fort Lauder $9 $7 $5

Table C.1

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 Transportation Problem
Boston
Cleveland (200 units
(200 units required)
Des Moines required)
(100 units
capacity)

Albuquerque
(300 units
required) Evansville
(300 units
capacity)

Fort Lauder
(300 units
capacity)
Figure C.1

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 Transportation Matrix
Figure C.2
To Factory Des Moines
Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity capacity
From constraint
$5 $4 $3
Des Moines 100
Cell
representing
$8 $4 $3 a possible
Evansville 300 source-to-
destination
$9 $7 $5 shipping
Fort Lauder 300 assignment
(Evansville
to Cleveland)
Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Cost of shipping 1 unit from Fort Cleveland Total demand

Lauder factory to Boston warehouse warehouse demand and total supply

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• Check the equality of the total supply & demand (if not, then
we need for dummy solution )
• how many ship of unit should be transported from each
demand to each distribution center can be expressed as
(Xij)
• i ……..for demand and j …….for distribution center

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 Step 2
Establish the initial feasible
solution

 The Northwest corner rule

 Least Cost Method
 Vogel’s Approximation
Model

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 Northwest-Corner Rule
 Start in the upper left-hand cell (or
northwest corner) of the table and allocate
units to shipping routes as follows:
1. Exhaust the supply (factory capacity) of each
row before moving down to the next row
2. Exhaust the (warehouse) requirements of
each column before moving to the next
column
3. Check to ensure that all supplies and
demands are met

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• The steps of the northwest corner method are
summarized here:
• 1. Allocate as much as possible to the cell in the
upper left-hand corner, subject to the supply and
demand constraints.
• 2. Allocate as much as possible to the next
adjacent feasible cell.
• 3. Repeat step 1,2 until all units all supply and
demand have been satisfied

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 Northwest-Corner Rule
1. Assign 100 tubs from Des Moines to Albuquerque
(exhausting Des Moines’s supply)
2. Assign 200 tubs from Evansville to Albuquerque
(exhausting Albuquerque’s demand)
3. Assign 100 tubs from Evansville to Boston
(exhausting Evansville’s supply)
4. Assign 100 tubs from Fort Lauder to Boston
(exhausting Boston’s demand)
5. Assign 200 tubs from Fort Lauderdale to
Cleveland (exhausting Cleveland’s demand and
Fort Lauder’s supply)

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 Northwest-Corner Rule
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauder 100 200 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Means that the firm is shipping 100

Figure C.3 bathtubs from Fort Lauder to Boston

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 Northwest-Corner Rule
Computed Shipping Cost
Route
From To Tubs Shipped Cost per Unit Total Cost
D A 100 $5 $ 500
E A 200 8 1,600
E B 100 4 400
F B 100 7 700
F C 200 5 $1,000
Total: $4,200

This is a feasible solution

but not necessarily the
Table C.2 lowest cost alternative (not
the optimal solution)
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 Second Method
The Lowest-Cost Method
1. Evaluate the transportation cost and
select the square with the lowest cost
(in case a Tie make an arbitrary selection ).
2. Depending upon the supply & demand
condition , allocate the maximum
possible units to lowest cost square.
3. Delete the satisfied allocated row or
the column (or both).
4. Repeat steps 1 and 3 until all units
have been allocated.

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 The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauder 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

First, $3 is the lowest cost cell so ship 100 units from

Des Moines to Cleveland and cross off the first row as
Des Moines is satisfied
Figure C.4
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 The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 100 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Second, $3 is again the lowest cost cell so ship 100 units

from Evansville to Cleveland and cross off column C as
Cleveland is satisfied
Figure C.4
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The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Third, $4 is the lowest cost cell so ship 200 units from

Evansville to Boston and cross off column B and row E
as Evansville and Boston are satisfied
Figure C.4
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The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 300 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Finally, ship 300 units from Albuquerque to Fort Lauder

as this is the only remaining cell to complete the
allocations
Figure C.4
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 The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 300 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Total Cost = $3(100) + $3(100) + $4(200) + $9(300)

= $4,100
Figure C.4
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 The Lowest-Cost Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

This is a feasible $5
solution, $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100
and an improvement over
the previous solution, but $8 $4 $3
necessarily the lowest 200
(E) Evansville
not 100 300

cost alternative $9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 300 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Total Cost = $3(100) + $3(100) + $4(200) + $9(300)

= $4,100
Figure C.4
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 The Lowest-Cost Method
Computed Shipping Cost
Route
From To Tubs Shipped Cost per Unit Total Cost
D C 100 $3 $ 300
E C 200 3 600
E B 200 4 800
F A 300 9 2700

Total: $4,100

This is a feasible solution

but not necessarily the
Table C.2 lowest cost alternative (not
the optimal solution)
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 Testing the initial feasible
solution
• Test for optimality
• Optimal solution is achieved when
there is no other alternative solution
give lower cost.
• Two method for the optimal solution :-
• Stepping stone method
• Modified Distribution method (MODM)

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 Stepping-Stone Method
1. Proceed row by row and Select a
water square (a square without
any allocation) to evaluate
2. Beginning at this square, trace/forming
a closed path back to the original
square via squares that are currently
being used.
3. Beginning with a plus (+) sign at the
unused corner (water square), place
alternate minus and plus signs at each
corner of the path just traced.
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4. Calculate an improvement index (the
net cost change for the path )by first
adding the unit-cost figures found in
each square containing a plus sign
and subtracting the unit costs in each
square containing a minus sign.
5. Repeat steps 1 though 4 until you have
calculated an improvement index for
all unused squares.

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• Evaluate the solution from optimality test by
observing the sign of the net cost change
I. The negative sign (-) indicates that a cost reduction can be
made by making the change.
II. Zero result indicates that there will be no change in cost.
III. The positive sign (+) indicates an increase in cost if the
change is made.
IV. If all the signs are positive , it means that the optimal
solution has been reached .
V. If more than one squares have a negative signs then the
water squared with the largest negative net cost change is
selected for quicker solution , in case of tie; choose one of
them randomly.
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6. If an improvement is possible, choose the
route (unused square) with the largest
negative improvement index
7. On the closed path for that route, select the
smallest number found in the squares
containing minus signs, adding this number
to all squares on the closed path with plus
signs and subtract it from all squares with a
minus sign .Repeat these process until you
have evaluate all unused squares
8. Prepare the new transportation table and
check for the optimality.

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 Stepping-Stone Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100
- +
100 Des Moines-
(E) Evansville 200
$8
100
$4 $3
300 Boston index
+ -
(F) Fort Lauderdale
$9
100
$7
200
$5
300 = $4 - $5 + $8 - $4
Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700 = +$3

99 $5 1 $4
100
- +

201
+ $8 99
- $4
200 100
Figure C.5
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 Stepping-Stone Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 Start $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100
- +
$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300
+ -
$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauder 100 200 300
+ -
Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Des Moines-Cleveland index

= $3 - $5 + $8 - $4 + $7 - $5 = +$4
Figure C.6
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 Stepping-Stone Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville Evansville-Cleveland
200 100 index 300

= $3 - $4$9+ $7 - $5
$7 = +$1 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 100 200 300
(Closed path = EC - EB + FB - FC)
Warehouse
requirement
Fort300
Lauder-Albuquerque
200 200 index
700
= $9 - $7 + $4 - $8 = -$2
(Closed path = FA - FB + EB - EA)

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 Stepping-Stone Method
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 200 100 300
- +
$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauder 100 200 300
+ -
Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700
1. Add 100 units on route FA
2. Subtract 100 from routes FB
3. Add 100 to route EB
Figure C.7 4. Subtract 100 from route EA
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 The first modified transportation table
by Stepping-Stone Method

To (A) (B) (C) Factory

From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 $3
(E) Evansville 100 200 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 100 200 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Total Cost = $5(100) + $8(100) + $4(200) + $9(100) + $5(200)

= $4,000 is this the optimal solution

Figure C.8
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• Since the condition for the
acceptability is met (m+n -1 = the
used cells ).3+3 -1 =5
• Repeat steps 1 though 4 until you
have calculated an improvement
index for all unused squares.
• Evaluate the unused cells as follow :-
•
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• DB …… DB, DA,EA,EB= +4 -5+8 – 4 = +3
• DC……..DC,DA,FA,FC= +3-5+9-5 = +2
• EC ……..EC,FC,FA,EA = +3 -5 +9-8 = -1
• FB…….FB,FA,EA,EB= +7-9+8-4 = +2
• Since there is a negative sign appear, then
the pervious solution is not the optimal
solution and there is chance to modify the
solution

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 The second modified transportation table
by Stepping-Stone Method

To (A) (B) (C) Factory

From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland capacity

$5 $4 $3
(D) Des Moines 100 100

$8 $4 100 $3
(E) Evansville 200 300

$9 $7 $5
(F) Fort Lauderdale 200 100 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 700

Total Cost = $5(100) + $4(200) + $3(100) + $9(200) + $5(100)

= $39,000 is this the optimal solution ?

Figure C.8
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 Re-evaluate the unused
cells
• AD; DB,EB,EC,FC,FA,DB= +4-4+3-5+9-5 = +2
• DC; DC,FC,FA,DA= +3 -5+9-5 = +2
• EA; EA,EC,FC,FA =+8 -3+5-9 = +1
• FB; FB,EB,EC,FC= +7 – 4 +3 – 5 = +1
• Since there is no negative sign appear, then the
pervious solution is the optimal solution and
there is no chance to modify the solution

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• The initial cost = $4,200
• The first modified cost = $4,000
• The second modified cost= $39,000

• Optimal solution

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Special Issues in Modeling

 Demand not equal to supply

 Called an unbalanced problem
 Common situation in the real world
 Resolved by introducing dummy
sources or dummy destinations as
necessary with cost coefficients of
zero

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 Special Issues in Modeling
Total Cost = 250($5) + 50($8) + 200($4) + 50($3) + 150($5) + 150(0)
= $3,350
To (A) (B) (C) Factory
Dummy capacity
From Albuquerque Boston Cleveland

$5 $4 $3 0
(D) Des Moines 250 250

$8 $4 $3 0
(E) Evansville 50 200 50 300

$9 $7 $5 0
(F) Fort Lauderdale 150 150 300

Warehouse
requirement 300 200 200 150 850

New
Figure C.9 Des Moines
capacity
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 Special Issues in Modeling
 Degeneracy
We must make the test for acceptability to use the stepping-stone
methodology, that mean the feasible solution must met the
condition of the number of occupied squares in any solution
must be equal to the number of rows in the table plus the
number of columns minus 1
M (number of rows) + N (number of columns ) = allocated cells

If a solution does not satisfy this rule it is

called degenerate

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 Special Issues in Modeling
To Customer Customer Customer Warehouse
From 1 2 3 supply

$8 $2 $6
Warehouse 1 100 100

$10 $9 $9
Warehouse 2 0 100 20 120

$7 $10 $7
Warehouse 3 80 80

Customer
demand 100 100 100 300

Initial solution is degenerate

Place a zero quantity in an unused square and
proceed computing improvement indices
Figure C.10
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