Concept explainers
A fertilizer manufacturer has to fulfill supply contracts to its two main customers (650 tons to Customer A and 800 tons to Customer B). It can meet this demand by shipping existing inventory from any of its three warehouses. Warehouse 1 (W1) has 400 tons of inventory on hand, Warehouse 2 (W2) has 500 tons, and Warehouse 3 (W3) has 600 tons. The company would like to arrange the shipping for the lowest cost possible, where the per-ton transit costs are as follows:
- a. Explain what each of the six decision variables (V) is: (Hint: Look at the Solver report below.)
V A1: _________
V A2: _________
V A3: _________
V B1: _________
V B2: _________
V B3: _________
- b. Write out the objective function in terms of the variables (V A1, V A2, etc,) and the objective coefficients.
- c. Aside from nonnegativity of the variables, what are the five constraints? Write a short description for each constraint, and write out the formula (and circle the type of equality/inequality).
After you formulate and enter the linear program for Problem B.27 in Excel, the Solver gives you the following sensitivity report:
Adjustable Cells
Constraints
- d. d) How many of the constraints are binding?
- e. e) What is the range of optimality on variable V A3?
- f. f) If we could ship 10 tons less to Customer A, how much money might we be able to save? If we could choose to short either Customer A or Customer B by 10 tons, which would we prefer to short? Why?
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Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter B Solutions
MyLab Operations Management with Pearson eText -- Access Card -- for Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management
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- Practical Management ScienceOperations ManagementISBN:9781337406659Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.Publisher:Cengage,