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Stepping Stone Method

This document describes the steppingstone method for determining an optimal solution to a transportation problem. [1] It involves starting with an initial feasible solution, then evaluating unused routes to see if shipping along those routes could lower the total cost. [2] The unused route with the most negative cost indicator, if any, becomes the new entering basic variable and a new solution is generated. [3] The process repeats, generating successively better solutions, until no negative cost indicators remain, proving the optimal solution has been found.

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Kin Lee
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344 views4 pages

Stepping Stone Method

This document describes the steppingstone method for determining an optimal solution to a transportation problem. [1] It involves starting with an initial feasible solution, then evaluating unused routes to see if shipping along those routes could lower the total cost. [2] The unused route with the most negative cost indicator, if any, becomes the new entering basic variable and a new solution is generated. [3] The process repeats, generating successively better solutions, until no negative cost indicators remain, proving the optimal solution has been found.

Uploaded by

Kin Lee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STEPPINGSTONE METHOD

To Destination Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 5 4 3 100
3
Factory 2 8 4 3 300

Factory 3 9 7 5 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements

Testing for optimality and finding successively better solutions amount to nothing more than
determining which basic variable should leave and which should enter the basis.

Selecting of the new entering basic variable is accomplished by evaluating the cost effect of the unused
routes and choosing the one which will make the greatest reduction in the value of the objective cost
function. One method pf evaluation consists of finding the cost differential of shipping one unit of the
product to each unused route via routes already occupied int the initial solution.

If all are positive or zero , the initial solution is an optimal solution, otherwise , the unoccupied route
with the most negative indicator is the new entering basic variable of an improved solution.

This method is one used to determine the optimality of the initial feasible solution such as Northwest
Corner, Least cost and Vogels’ s approximations.

It makes use of UNUSED or vacant cell as a point of destination to evaluate if the solution can still be
improved.

1. Start at the UNUSED Cell , trace a closed path or loop back to the original cell via cells being
currently used / OCCUPIED.
2. 1ST CELL UNUSED, ALL THE OCCUPIED
Conditions:
- Each pair of consecutive used cells lies in either the same row or column
- No 3 consecutive occupied cells lie on the same column or row
- The 1st and the last of the sequence lie in the same row or column
- No cell appears more than once in a sequence. No duplication
- Only vertical and horizontal moves are allowed and can only change directions at occupied
cells.

To A B C Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 100
4753895 100
Factory32 200 100 300

Factory 3 100 200 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements
 Start with the Northwest corner method as the initial solution or first distribution

Total Cost: P 4,200

 The USED CELLS are:


A1 B2 C3
A2 B3
 The UNUSED CELLS are:
A3 B1 C1
C2
Computation of the Improvement ( Use Vacant/ Unused Cells)
A3: A3 – A2 + B2 – B3 = 9 – 8 + 4 – 7 = -2
B1: B1 - B2 + A2 – A1 = 4–4+8–5=3
C1: C1 – C3 + B3 - B2 + A2 - C1 = 3 – 5 + 7 – 4 + 8 -5 = 4
C2: C2 – C3 + B3 -B2 = 3–5+7-4=1

 In computation for improvement , we must remember aside from the fact that the direction
is vertical and horizontal, the landing cell must be occupied cell horizontal or vertical in
position to the point of destination and the sign in alternate starts from the positive then
negative.
 If the improvement index area are all positive, it means that the optimum solution is
already optimal .
 On this problem there is still negative number, we can still improve this solution. And the
negative number belong to A3, we can make a redistribution on the loop of A3

Table 2 4475389
3
To A B C Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 100
100
Factory 2 200 (- ) 100 (+) 300

Factory 3 (+) 100 (-) 200 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements

 The positive ( + ) are takers, and the negative ( - ) are givers.


 Quantity that will be taken is the lowest quantity with negative transportation cost.

Table 2 with
4753895 the redistribution of values
3
To A B C Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 100
100
Factory 2 100 200 300

Factory 3 100 200 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements
Total cost: 5 ( 100) + 8 ( 100 ) + 4 (200 ) + 9 ( 100 ) + 5 ( 200)

= P 4,000

Check / COMPUTE for the improvement Index

UNUSED CELLS

B1: B1 – B2 + A2 – A1 = 4–4+8–5=3

C1: C1 – C3 + A3 – A1 = 3 -5 + 9 – 5 = 2

C2: C2 – C3 – A3 – A2 = 3 – 5 + 9 – 8 = -1

B3: B3 – A3 + A2 -B2 =7–9+8– 4=2

There will be a redistribution on C2

Table 3

4753895
3
To A B C Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 100
100
Factory 2 100 ( -) 200 (+) 300

Factory 3 100 ( +) 200 ( -) 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements

Table 3 with the


4475389 redistribution of values
3
To A B C Factory
From Warehouse 1 Warehouse2 Warehouse 3 Capacity
Factory 1 100
100
Factory 2 200 100 300

Factory 3 200 100 300

Warehouse 300 200 200 700


Requirements

Total cost: 5 ( 100) + 4 ( 200 ) + 3 ( 100 ) + 9 ( 200) + 5 ( 100)

= P 3,900

Check / COMPUTE for the improvement Index

B1: B1 – A1 + A3 – C3 + C2 -B2 =4–5+9–5+3–4=2

C1: C1 – C3 + A2 -A1 =3–5+9–5=2

A2: A2 – C2 + C3 – A3 =8–3+5–9=1
B3: B3 – C3 + C2 – B2 =7–5+3–4=1

Since the improvement index has all positive results, this means we can no longer make an
improvement on this tableau. This table is optimal.

The lowest cost of transportation is P 3,900.

The allocation from source to destinations are:

F1 to WA = 100

F3 to WA = 200

F2 to WB = 200

F2 to WC = 100

F3 to WC = 100

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