CA5103: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

3rd Departmental Examination

I. LECTURE

MODULE 5.1: DISTRIBUTION AND NETWORK MODELS

The Definition of Supply Chain

➔ It describes the set of all interconnected resources involved in producing and distributing a product; it is
designed to satisfy customer demand for a product at minimum cost (Anderson, et al., 2018).
➔ It refers to the sequence of organizations, their facilities, functions, and activities, that are involved in
producing and delivering a product or service (Benton, 2010).

The Types of Problems in Supply Chain Models/Network Flow Problems (Anderson, et al., 2018)

Transportation Problems Transshipment Problems Assignment Problems

ILLUSTRATION OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN (STEVENSON, 2018)

The Definition of Logistics

➔ It is the part of a supply chain involved with the forward and reverse flow of goods, services, cash, and
information (Bowersox et al., 2010).

Questions Regarding Decision Making in Managing Supply Chains (Anderson, et al., 2018)

Where to produce the product? How much should be produced?

Where should it be sent? How to design a supply chain to satisfy customer

demand for a product at minimum cost?

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The Definition of Transportation Problem
➔ The transportation problem seeks to minimize the total shipping costs of transporting goods from
𝑚 origins (each with a supply 𝑠 ) to 𝑛 destinations (each with a demand 𝑑 ), when the unit
𝑖 𝑗
shipping cost from an origin, 𝑖, to a destination, 𝑗, is 𝑐 .
𝑖𝑗
➔ The network representation for a transportation problem with two sources and three destinations
is given in the next illustration.

NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF A TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM

Important Notes:
➔ C’s are transportation costs.
➔ Circles and squares are nodes.
➔ Arrows distribution routes from source (𝑖) to destination (𝑗).

TOTAL SUPPLY EXCEEDS TOTAL TOTAL DEMAND EXCEEDS TOTAL SUPPLY:

DEMAND:
Add a dummy origin with supply equal to the
No modification of LP Formulation is shortage amount.
necessary.
Assign a zero-shipping cost per unit.

The amount “shipped” from the dummy origin (in

the solution) will not be shipped.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 1: TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 1

➔ Acme Block Company has orders for 80 tons of concrete blocks at three suburban locations:
Northwood -- 25 tons, Westwood -- 45 tons, and Eastwood -- 10 tons.
➔ Acme has two plants, each of which can produce 40 tons per week.
➔ Delivery cost (in dollars) per ton from each plant to each suburban location is shown below.
➔ How should end-of-week shipments be made to fill the above orders?

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 DELIVERY COST (IN DOLLARS)
NORTHWOOD WESTWOOD EASTWOOD
PLANT 1 24 30 40
PLANT 2 30 40 42

NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF THE ACME BLOCK PROBLEM

STEPS IN SOLVING TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 1

Define the Objective Function:

➔ Minimize the total delivery cost.
◆ Min: (delivery cost per ton from each plant to each suburban location) x (number of
tons delivered from each plant to each suburban location).
➔ Min Z: 24𝑥11 + 30𝑥12 + 40𝑥13 + 30𝑥21 + 40𝑥22 + 42𝑥23

Define the Constraints:

➔ Supply Constraints:
◆ (1) 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 ≤ 40
11 12 13
◆ (2) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 ≤ 40
21 22 23
➔ Demand Constraints:
◆ (3) 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 25
11 21
◆ (4) 𝑥 +𝑥 = 45
12 22
◆ (5) 𝑥 +𝑥 = 10
13 23
➔ Non-Negativity of Variables:
◆ 𝑥 ≥ 0, 𝑖 = 1, 2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗 = 1, 2, 3
𝑖𝑗

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 Balanced Table:
Total Supply = Total Demand

SAMPLE PROBLEM 2: TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 2

➔ The Navy has 9,000 pounds of material in Albany, Georgia that it wishes to ship to three
installations: San Diego, Norfolk, and Pensacola.
➔ They require 4,000, 2,500, and 2,500 pounds, respectively.
➔ Government regulations require equal distribution of shipping among the three carriers.
➔ The shipping costs per pound for truck, railroad, and airplane transit are shown below.
➔ Formulate and solve a linear program to determine the shipping arrangements (mode, destination, and
quantity) that will minimize the total shipping cost.

DESTINATION

MODE SAN DIEGO NORFOLK PENSACOLA

TRUCK $12 $6 $5

RAILROAD $20 $11 $9

AIRPLANE $30 $26 $28

STEPS IN SOLVING TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 2

Define the Decision Variables:

➔ We want to determine the pounds of material, 𝑥 , to be shipped by mode 𝑖 to destination 𝑗.
𝑖𝑗
➔ The following table summarizes the decision variables:

San Diego Norfolk Pensacola

Truck x11 x12 x13
Railroad x21 x22 x23
Airplane x31 x32 x33

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Define the Objective Function:
➔ Minimize the total shipping cost.
◆ Min: (shipping cost per pound for each mode per destination pairing) x (number
of pounds shipped by mode per destination pairing).
➔ Min Z: 12𝑥 + 6𝑥 + 5𝑥 + 20𝑥 + 11𝑥 + 9𝑥 + 30𝑥 + 26𝑥 + 28𝑥
11 12 13 21 22 23 31 32 33

Define the Constraints:

➔ Equal Use of Transportation Modes:
◆ (1) 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 3000
11 12 13
◆ (2) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 = 3000
21 22 23
◆ (3) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 = 3000
31 32 33
➔ Destination Material Requirement:
◆ (1) 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 4000
11 12 13
◆ (2) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 = 2500
21 22 23
◆ (3) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 = 2500
31 32 33
➔ Non-Negativity of Variables:
◆ 𝑥 ≥ 0, 𝑖 = 1, 2, 3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗 = 1, 2, 3
𝑖𝑗

SAMPLE PROBLEM 3: TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 3 (UNBALANCED)

➔ The table below shows an unbalanced transportation problem wherein total plant capacity exceeds the
total demand requirement.

PLANT STORE 1 STORE 2 STORE 3 PLANT

CAPACITY

PLANT 1 ₱8 per unit ₱5 per unit ₱4 per unit 250

PLANT 2 ₱9 per unit ₱6 per unit ₱3 per unit 200

STORE DEMAND 80 140 200 420/450

➔ The next table shows the unbalanced transportation problem wherein a dummy variable has been
inputted.

PLANT STORE 1 STORE 2 STORE 3 STORE 4 PLANT

(DUMMY) CAPACITY

PLANT 1 ₱8 per unit ₱5 per unit ₱4 per unit ₱0 per unit 250

PLANT 2 ₱9 per unit ₱6 per unit ₱3 per unit ₱0 per unit 200

STORE 80 140 200 30 450/450

DEMAND

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 NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 3 (WITH DUMMY STORE)

STEPS IN SOLVING TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM 3 (UNBALANCED)

Define the Objective Function:
➔ Minimize the total transportation cost.
◆ Min: (transportation cost per unit for each mode per destination pairing) x (number
of units transported by mode per destination pairing).
➔ Min Z: 8𝑥11 + 5𝑥12 + 4𝑥13 + 0𝑥14 + 9𝑥21 + 6𝑥22 + 3𝑥23 + 0𝑥24
Define the Constraints:
➔ Equal Use of Transportation Modes:
◆ (1) 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 250
11 12 13 14
◆ (2) 𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 +𝑥 = 200
21 22 23 24
➔ Destination Material Requirement:
◆ (1) 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 80
11 21
◆ (2) 𝑥 +𝑥 = 140
12 22
◆ (3) 𝑥 +𝑥 = 200
13 23
◆ (4) 𝑥 +𝑥 = 30
14 24
➔ Non-Negativity of Variables:
◆ 𝑥 𝑖𝑗 ≥ 0, 𝑖 = 1, 2, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗 = 1, 2, 3

Summary of Steps in Solving Transportation Problem (Minimization)

Set up a balanced transportation table (Note: If

Read and understand the problem and its given unbalanced "total supplies not equal to total
conditions. demand" create a dummy variable with a
transportation cost equal to "0").

Represent the Transportation Problem with a network Formulate the General Linear Programming
model. Model.

Solve the problem.

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The Definition of Transshipment Problems
➔ Transshipment problems are transportation problems in which a shipment may move through
intermediate nodes (transshipment nodes) before reaching a particular destination node.
➔ Transshipment problems can be converted to larger transportation problems and solved by a special
transportation program.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 4: TRANSSHIPMENT PROBLEM (ZERON INDUSTRIES)

➔ The Northside and Southside facilities of Zeron Industries supply three firms (Zrox, Hewes,
Rockrite) with customized shelving for its offices.
➔ They both order shelving from the same two manufacturers, Arnold Manufacturers
➔ and Supershelf, Inc.
➔ Currently weekly demands by the users are 50 for Zrox, 60 for Hewes, and 40 for Rockrite.
➔ Both Arnold and Supershelf can supply at most 75 units to its customers.
➔ Additional data is shown below:

Because of long standing contracts based on past orders, unit costs from the manufacturers to the suppliers
are:
ZERON N ZERON S
ARNOLD 5 8
SUPERSHELF 7 4

The costs to install the shelving at the various locations are:

ZROX HEWES ROCKRITE

ZERON N 1 5 8

ZERON S 3 4 4
➔ With all of the information above and recalling the previous steps, solve the transshipment
problem.
➔ Conduct the linear programming formulation and define the decision variables of the given
problem.
➔ Identify the objective function, constraints, and construct a network representation of the said
transshipment problem.

NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF THE ZERON INDUSTRIES PROBLEM

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 STEPS IN SOLVING TRANSSHIPMENT PROBLEM (ZERON INDUSTRIES)

Define the Decision Variables:

➔ 𝑥 = amount shipped from manufacturer 𝑖 to supplier 𝑗.
𝑖𝑗
➔ 𝑥 = amount shipped from supplier 𝑗 to customer 𝑘.
𝑗𝑘
➔ Where:
◆ 𝑖 = 1 (Arnold), 2 (Supershelf)
◆ 𝑗 = 3 (Zeron N), 4 (Zeron S)
◆ 𝑘 = 5 (Zrox), 6 (Hewes), 7 (Rockrite)
Define the Objective Function:
➔ Minimize overall shipping cost.
➔ Min Z: 12𝑥 + 6𝑥 + 5𝑥 + 20𝑥 + 11𝑥 + 9𝑥 + 30𝑥 + 26𝑥 + 28𝑥 + 28𝑥
13 14 23 24 35 36 37 45 46 47
Define the Constraints:
➔ Amount Out of Arnold
◆ 𝑥 +𝑥 ≤ 75
13 14
➔ Amount Out of Supershelf
◆ 𝑥 + 𝑥 ≤ 75
23 24
➔ Amount through Zeron N
◆ 𝑥 +𝑥 −𝑥 −𝑥 +𝑥 = 0
13 23 35 36 37
➔ Amount through Zeron S
◆ 𝑥 +𝑥 −𝑥 −𝑥 +𝑥 = 0
14 24 45 46 47
➔ Amount into Zrox
◆ 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 50
35 45
➔ Amount into Hewes
◆ 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 60
36 46
➔ Amount into Rockrite
◆ 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 40
37 47
➔ Non-Negativity of Variables
◆ 𝑥 ≥ 0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑖 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗.
𝑖𝑗
The Definition of Assignment Problem
➔ An assignment problem seeks to minimize the total cost assignment of m workers to m jobs, given that the cost
of worker 𝑖 performing job 𝑗 is 𝑐 .
𝑖𝑗
➔ It assumes all workers are assigned and each job is performed.
➔ An assignment problem is a special case of a transportation problem in which all supplies and all demands are
equal to 1; hence assignment problems may be solved as linear programs.
NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF AN ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

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Assignment Problem (LP Formulation Special Cases)

NUMBER OF AGENTS EXCEED NUMBER OF TASKS: NUMBER OF TASKS EXCEED NUMBER OF AGENTS:
Add enough dummy agents to equalize the number of agents
and the number of tasks.
Extra agents simply remain unassigned.
The objective function coefficients for these new variables would
be zero.
THE ASSIGNMENT ALTERNATIVE ARE
AN ASSIGNMENT IS UNACCEPTABLE:
EVALUATED IN TERMS OF REVENUE OR
PROFIT:
Solve as a maximization problem. Remove the corresponding decision variable.
AN AGENT IS PERMITTED TO WORK 𝑡 TASKS:

SAMPLE PROBLEM 5: ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM (ELECTRICAL)

➔ An electrical contractor pays his subcontractors a fixed fee plus mileage for work performed.
➔ On a given day the contractor is faced with three electrical jobs associated with various projects.
➔ Given below are the distances between the subcontractors and the projects:

PROJECTS
SUBCONTRACTOR A B C
WESTWIDE 50 36 16
FEDERATED 28 30 18
GOLIATH 35 32 20
UNIVERSAL 25 25 14

➔ How should the contractors be assigned so that total mileage is minimized?

➔ Conduct linear programming formulation and define the objective function and constraints of the given
assignment problem.

NETWORK REPRESENTATION OF ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM (ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR)

MODULE 5.2: ANALYTICAL AND COMPUTER SOLUTIONS OF TRANSPORTATION

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PROBLEMS

Determination of a Starting Feasible Solution (Uy, et al., 2013)

➔ The general definition of the transportation model requires that:

➔ A starting basic feasible solution must include 𝑚 + 𝑛 − 1 basic variables, also known as the
Rim Requirement.

Analytical Solution of Transportation Problem

NORTHWEST CORNER METHOD (NWC)

➔ It provides a straightforward technique for obtaining the initial solution (systematic, easily
understandable method).
➔ The costs are not relevant in determining the initial solution.

STEPS IN USING THE NORTHWEST CORNER METHOD (UY, ET AL., 2013)

STEP 1: STEP 2:
Starting with the northwest most (upper left hand) Subtract from the row supply and from the column
corner, allocate the smaller amount of either the row demand the amount allocated.
supply or the column demand thereby exhausting the
supply and demand requirements. If the column demand is now zero, move to the cell
next on the right; if the row supply is zero, move down
the cell in the next row. If both are zero, move first to
the next cell on the right, place 0, then down one cell.
STEP 3: STEP 4:
Once a cell is identified as per step 2, it becomes the Repeat the above steps 1 to 3 until all remaining
new northwest cell. supply and demand is gone.

Allocate an amount as in step 1.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 1: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING NORTHWEST CORNER METHOD

➔ Find the initial basic feasible solution using the Northwest Corner Method.
◆ Note: Consider the Acme Block Company transportation problem below.

NORTHWOOD WESTWOOD EASTWOOD PLANT SUPPLY

PLANT 1 24 30 40 40

PLANT 2 30 40 42 40

DEMAND 25 45 10 80/80

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SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 1:
STEP 1:
Begin in the upper left hand corner of the table by
allocating the 25 units of resources (smaller amount of
either row supply or column demand) to exhaust the
requirements.

STEPS 2 AND 3:
Subtract 25 from the row supply in Plant 1 (40) and
allocate the said amount of resources (15) of Plant 1 to
Westwood.

Note: The resources in row 1 are fully allocated

(exhausted).

STEP 4:
Repeat steps 1 to 3 until all resources are exhausted and
all requirements are satisfied.

Note: A solution becomes basic if the number of

occupied cells, i.e. cells with allocations is
𝑚 + 𝑛 − 1, where 𝑚 represents the number of
rows and 𝑛, the number of columns (if 𝑚 = 2 and
𝑛 = 3 then 𝑚 + 𝑛 − 1 = 4, thus the basic
feasible solution must include 4 basic variables).
RESULT:
The total cost in this solution is obtained by multiplying
the cells allocation to the shipping cost per unit.

𝑍 = 24(25) + 30(15) + 40(30) + 42(10) = 2670

SAMPLE PROBLEM 2: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING NORTHWEST CORNER METHOD

➔ Find the initial basic feasible solution using the Northwest Corner Method.

DESTINATION
MODE REGULATIONS
SAN DIEGO NORFOLK PENSACOLA

TRUCK 12 6 5 3000

RAILROAD 20 11 9 3000

AIRPLANE 30 26 28 3000

MATERIAL 4500 2500 2500 9000/9000

REQUIREMENTS

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SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 2:

RESULT:
𝑍 = 12(3000) + 20(1000) + 11(2000) + 26(500) + 28(2500) = 161, 000

LEAST COST METHOD (MINIMUM CELL)

➔ It involves sequentially allocating the resources to the cells with the minimum cost to obtain the initial
solution.
➔ The Least Cost Method (LCM) yields not only an initial feasible solution but also one that is close to
optimal in small transportation problems.
➔ This method is “heuristic” in nature.
◆ Note: If there is a tie for a lowest-cost cell during any allocation, we may choose any of
these cells for allocation.
◆ If a single allocation exhausts the capacity of a row and satisfies the requirement of a
column, we place a zero in one of the bordering cells (Uy et al., 2013).

STEPS IN USING THE LEAST COST METHOD (UY, ET AL., 2013)

STEP 1: STEP 2:
Select the cell with the lowest available cost. Choose the next lowest-cost cell and make an
allocation in view of the remaining capacity and
Allocate as much as possible in view of the capacity requirement of its row and column.
of its row and the destination requirement of its
column.

STEP 3:
Repeat the process until all remaining supply and demand is exhausted.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 3: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING LEAST COST METHOD

FROM/TO NORTHWOOD WESTWOOD EASTWOOD PLANT SUPPLY

PLANT 1 24 30 40 40

PLANT 2 30 40 42 40

DEMAND 25 45 10 80/80

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SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 3:
STEP 1:
Select the cell with the least cost and allocate the shipment to
exhaust either the supply of plants or meet the demand
requirements.

Note: The lowest cost is 24 (in cell Plant 1 to Northwood).

STEP 2:
Choose the next lowest cost cell (with cost of 30) then make
allocation of15 units of resources meeting all the supplies in Plant 1.

STEP 3 AND RESULT:

Repeat the process until all remaining supply and demand is
exhausted.

𝑍 = 24(25) + 30(15) + 40(30) + 42(10) = 2670

SAMPLE PROBLEM 4: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING LEAST COST METHOD

DESTINATION
MODE REGULATIONS
SAN DIEGO NORFOLK PENSACOLA
TRUCK 12 6 5 3000
RAILROAD 20 11 9 3000
AIRPLANE 30 26 28 3000
MATERIAL 4500 2500 2500 9000/9000
REQUIREMENTS

SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 4:

RESULT:
𝑍 = 5(2500) + 6(500) + 11(2000) + 20(1000) + 30(3000) = 147, 500

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MODIFIED DISTRIBUTION METHOD (MODI)
➔ An evaluation procedure used to examine if it is more desirable to move a shipment into one of the
unused cells.
➔ It aims to determine whether a better schedule of shipments from plants to warehouses can be developed
➔ It is used to compute improvement indices for each unused cell without drawing all of the closed paths.

STEPS IN USING THE MODI METHOD (UY, ET AL., 2013)

STEP 1: STEP 2:
For each solution, compute the 𝑅 and 𝐾 values for the Calculate the improved indices for all empty or
occupied or used cells in the table using the formula: unused cells using:

𝑅 + 𝐾 = 𝐶 , where 𝑅 is always set to 0. Improvement Index: 𝐼 = 𝐶 − (𝑅 + 𝐾 )

𝑖 𝑗 𝑖𝑗 1 𝑖𝑗 𝑖𝑗 𝑖 𝑗

STEP 3: STEP 4:
Select the unused cell with the largest negative Trace the close path for the unused cell having the
index. largest negative index.

Note: If all indices are equal to or greater than

zero, the solution is optimal.
STEP 5: STEP 6:
Develop an improved solution. Repeat steps 1 to 5 until an optimal solution has been
found.

SAMPLE PROBLEM 5: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING THE MODI METHOD

FROM/TO NORTHWOOD WESTWOOD EASTWOOD PLANT SUPPLY

PLANT 1 24 30 40 40
PLANT 2 30 40 42 40
DEMAND 25 45 10 80/80

SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 5:

STEP 1:
Begin with the same initial solution obtained using NWC.

To compute R and K values, consider the occupied or used cells.

Note: There are four occupied cells (Plant 1 to Northwood,

Plant 1 to Westwood, Plant 2 to Westwood and Plant 2 to
Eastwood).

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STEP 2: STEP 3:
After the row and column values are computed, the next step is to Since the improvement index in the unused cell
evaluate each unused/unoccupied cells by computing their
(row 2 to column 1) is negative (𝐼 =− 4), the
improvement indices using 𝐼𝑖𝑗 = 𝐶𝑖𝑗 − (𝑅𝑖 + 𝐾𝑗) 21
solution is not yet optimal.
Thus, I13 = C13 – (R1 + K2) and I22 = C21 – (R2 + K1) are computed.

Note: There are two unused cells in the problem

and their improvement indices are: I13 = 8 and I21 = - 4.

STEPS 4 AND 5:
Develop a new improved solution by tracing a close path for the
cell having the largest negative
index (𝐼 =− 4).
21

This is done by placing plus and minus signs at alternate corners of

the path, beginning with a plus sign at the unused cell (row 2 to
column 1).

The smallest number in a negative position in the close path

indicates the quantity that can be assigned to the unused cell being
entered in the solution.

This quantity is added to all cells in the close path with plus sign
and subtracted from those cells with minus signs.

STEP 6:
Evaluate now the unused cells in this new solution and
repeat the process until all indices are equal to or
greater than zero.

RESULT:
Thus, the minimum cost is:

𝑍 = 30(40) + 30(25) + 40(5) + 42(10) = 2570

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 SAMPLE PROBLEM 6: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION USING THE MODI METHOD
➔ Use the MODI method to determine the optimal allocation of the given transportation.
◆ Note: Consider the initial solution obtained in LCM.

DESTINATION
MODE REGULATIONS
SAN DIEGO NORFOLK PENSACOLA
TRUCK 12 6 5 3000
RAILROAD 20 11 9 3000
AIRPLANE 30 26 28 3000
MATERIAL 4500 2500 2500 9000/9000
REQUIREMENTS

SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 6:

𝑍 = 12(1000) + 6(2000) + 11(500) + 9(2500) + 30(3000) = 142, 000

MODULE 5.3: ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

The Definition of Assignment Problem

➔ It is a special form of transportation problem where the supply at each source and the demand at each
destination are each limited to one unit (Uy, et al., 2013).
➔ It is a problem wherein one agent is being assigned to one and only one task (Anderson, et al., 2019).
➔ It has an objective of minimizing the overall cost of completing the job, or, alternately, of maximizing the
overall profit (Anderson et al., 2019)

SAMPLE PROBLEM 1: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OF ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

➔ The Fowle Marketing Research faces the task of assigning a project leader (agent) to each
client (task).
➔ Currently, three individuals have no other commitments and are available for the project leader
assignments.
➔ The three projects have approximately the same priority, and management wants to assign project
leaders to minimize the total number of days required to complete all three projects.
➔ If a project leader is to be assigned to one client only, which assignments should be made
(Anderson, et al., 2019, p.274)?

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 ESTIMATED PROJECT COMPLETION TIMES (DAYS) FOR THE FOWLE MARKETING
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM
PROJECT LEADER CLIENT
1 2 3
TERRY 10 15 9
CARLE 9 18 5
MCCLYMONDS 6 14 3

Here, the supply is always one project leader, and the

demand is for only one client.

The first table is already in the proper form for the

Assignment Tableau.

Since supply and demand are always one, it is not Note: The cost of assigning project leader to a
necessary to include supply and demand rows in the client is the time it takes that project leader to
tableau. complete the client’s task.

SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 1:

STEP 1:
Develop an opportunity cost table by subtracting the least
cost in each row from every element of the row.

These computations are referred to as row reductions.

This shows the best course of action for each row, and the
penalty or “lost opportunity” is developed for all other row
values.
STEP 2:
Subtract the minimum value in each column of the first
reduced matrix from all entries in that column.

This is the second reduced cost matrix.

These computations are called column reductions.

STEP 3: Notice from Table 2a that the assignment of project leader
Test for optimality by determining if an assignment with a Terry to Client 1 means that no other project leader can be
total reduced cost of zero is possible from the second assigned to that Client 1.
reduced cost matrix.
Also, the assignment of project leader Carle to Client 3
If so, the solution is optimal. means that no other project leader can be assigned to that
Client 3.
An assignment can be made in the table wherever a zero
Once this assignment is made, the zero row in McClymonds
is present
is infeasible, which indicates that there is no unique optimal
assignment for Client 3.
An optimal solution results when each of the three project
leaders can be uniquely assigned to a different client. Therefore, Table 2a does not contain an optimal solution.

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STEP 4:
Draw horizontal and vertical lines to cover all zeros.

Use a small number of lines as possible (zeros

must be covered with as few lines as possible).

The table is optimal when the number of lines Table 2b shows that two lines are enough to cover all
equals the number of rows or columns. the zeros.

The two lines indicate that there are only two unique
assignments, and three are required for an optimal
solution.
STEP 5:
Subtract the smallest number not covered by a line
from all the elements not covered and add this number
to all elements lying at the intersection of two lines.

The second iteration for this model with the Note: The minimum value not covered by a line
appropriate changes is shown in Table 3. in Table 2b is 2.

Note that in Table 3, no matter how you draw the

lines, at least three are needed to cover all the zeros.

This indicates that three unique assignments can be

made and that an optimal solution has been reached.

In making the assignments, project leader Terry is

assigned to Client 2, project leader Carle is assigned to
client 3 and project leader McClymonds is assigned to
Client 1.
Here, each of the project leaders can be uniquely
assigned to the different clients.

STEP 6: Note: Like a transportation problem, an

Repeat steps 4 and 5 if the solution is not optimal. assignment model can be unbalanced when
supply exceeds demand or demand exceeds
supply.
In either case, a dummy column or a dummy row will
be added to the table to balance the model.

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SAMPLE PROBLEM 2: ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OF ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM
➔ Suppose a company has four jobs that must be assigned to four machines.
➔ The cost it takes each machine to complete each job is given by the table below.

MACHINE/JOB 𝐽 𝐽 𝐽 𝐽
1 2 3 4

𝑀 25 31 35 23
1

𝑀 15 20 24 30
2

𝑀 22 19 17 16
3

𝑀 26 21 29 32
4

SOLUTION FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM 2:

The assignment will be as follows:

Machine 1 to Job 4, Machine 2 to Job 1, Machine 3 to Job 3 and, Machine 4 to Job 2

The cost of matrix in this assignment: 𝑍 = 23 + 15 + 17 + 21 = 76

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