CHAPTER FOUR

TRANSPORTATION AND
ASSIGNMENT MODEL
 Transportation Model

• The transportation model deals with a special class of linear

programming problem in which the objective is to transport goods
from various origins or factories to different destinations or
markets at a total minimum cost.
• The major purpose of using an LP model for transportation
problems is to minimize transportation costs taking into
account:
– The origin supplies
– The destination demands, and
– The unit transportation costs.
• Examples of transportation problems include:
Shipments from warehouses to retail stores, shipment from
factories to warehouses, …
Developing a Transportation Model

• A TP typically involves:
– a set of sending locations which are referred to as
origins, and
– a set of receiving locations, which are
referred to as destinations.
• Information required to develop a TP model include:
– Supply quantity (capacity) of each origin.
– Demand quantity of each destination.
– Unit transportation cost for each origin-destination
route.
 Cont’d

Assumptions:

The transportation algorithm requires the assumption that:

• All goods be homogeneous, so that any origin is capable
of supplying any destination, and
• Transportation costs are a direct linear function of the
quantity shipped over any route.

• The total quantity available is equal to the total demand.

(though we will modify it when we discuss about special
issues)
 Example፡ Sugar factory

• A sugar factory supply the needs of four cities. A

factory can supply the following: plant 1—35 million
quintals; plant 2—50 million quintals; plant 3—40
million quintals.
The demands in these cities: city 1—45 million
quintals; city 2—20 million quintals; city 3—30 million
quintals; city 4—30 million quintals.
The costs of sending 1 quintal from factory to city
depend on the distance travel. The cost data is given
in the following table.
 Cont…

• Data on the Shipping Costs for Sugar factory

To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4
Plant 1 $8 $6 $10 $9
Plant 2 $9 $12 $13 $7
Plant 3 $14 $9 $16 $5

• Required
Formulate an LP to minimize the cost of meeting each city’s
peak demand.
 Cont…

• Summarizing the whole information in a single

transportation table
Supply
To
(in million)
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4
Factory 1 $8 $6 $10 $9 35
Factory 2 $9 $12 $13 $7 50
Factory 3 $14 $9 $16 $5 40
Demand
(in million) 45 20 30 30
 Cont’d

Using all the above information:

i. Express the transportation problem as an LPP

ii. The network representation of the transportation

LPP is called Net work flow

 Solution

 Let:
xij = number of (million) quintals produced at plant i and
sent to city j
 The total cost of supplying the peak demands to cities
1–4 may be written as:

8x11 + 6x12 + 10x13 + 9x14 (Cost of shipping from plant 1)

+ 9x21 + 12x22 + 13x23 + 7x24 (Cost of shipping from plant 2)
+ 14x31 + 9x32 + 16x33 + 5x34 (Cost of shipping from plant 3)
 Cont…

• Subjected to the constraints.

1. The total supplied by each plant cannot exceed the
plant’s capacity

2. Each city will receive sufficient amount to meet

its peak demand.
 Cont…

• Combining the supply constraints, demand constraints,

and unit transportation costs yields the
following LP model of sugar factory problem:
Min z = 8x11 + 6x12 + 10x13 + 9x14 + 9x21 + 12x22 + 13x23 + 7x24
+ 14x31 + 9x32 + 16x33 + 5x34
s.t. x11+ x12 x13 + x14 ≤ 35 (Supply constraints)
x21 + x22 + x23 + x24 ≤ 50
x31 + x32 +x33 + x34 ≤ 40
x11+ x21 + x31 ≥ 45 (Demand constraints)
x12 + x22 + x32≥ 20
x13 + x23 + x33 ≥ 30
x14 + x24 + x34 ≥ 30
xij ≥ 0 (i 1, 2, 3; j 1, 2, 3, 4)
General Description of a Transportation Problem

• A transportation problem is specified by the following

information:
1. A set of m supply points from which a good is
shipped.
Supply point i can supply at most si units.
• In the example, m=3, s1= 35, s2 = 50, and s3 = 40.
2. A set of n demand points to which the good is
shipped. Demand point j must receive at least dj
units of the shipped good.
• In the example, n = 4, d1 = 45, d2 = 20, d3 = 30, and d4
= 30.
3. Each unit produced at supply point i and shipped to
demand point j incurs a variable cost of cij.
• In the example, c12 = 6.
 Cont…

 Let:
xij = number of units shipped from supply point i to
demand point j, then:
• The general formulation of a transportation problem is

• If the total supply equals total demand, and the problem is said
to be a balanced transportation problem.
 Cont…

• Network Representation of the transportation Problem

 This LPP has 12 shipping routes. The objective is to
identify the minimum cost route(Least cost route).
Transportation Tableau

• The relevant data in a transportation problem is

summarized in a transportation tableau.
Transportation Tableau for sugar factory problem
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 8 6 10 9 35

Plant 2 9 12 13 7 50

Plant 3 14 9 16 5 40

Demand 45 20 30 30
Solving Transportation Problems

• The transportation problem is solved in two phases:

I. Phase I: Obtaining an initial feasible solution
• Methods like the NWC, LCM can be used to establish
an initial basic feasible solution easily.
II. Phase II: Moving toward optimality
• Stepping stone and the MODI Methods can be used
for evaluating the reduced costs to move from the
initial feasible solution to the optimal one.
• Whereas, the stepping-stone method is used to reach the
optimal solution, MODI helps to evaluate reduced costs.
 I. Obtaining an Initial Basic Feasible Solution

• For the transportation assignment to be feasible,

two conditions must be fulfilled:
1. A feasible solution is one in which assignments
are made in such a way that all supply and
demand requirements are satisfied.
2. The number of nonzero (occupied) cells
should equal one less than the sum of the
number of rows and the number of columns
in a transportation table.
 Cont…

• A number of different approaches can be used to

find an initial feasible solution.
• Two of these are described here:
1. The northwest-corner method (NCM)
2. An intuitive approach/Least cost method/ (LCM)
• NB:
– When a fewer occupied cells appear in a solution, the
solution is referred to as a degenerated solution.
 1. The Northwest-Corner Method (NCM)

• While using the NWC method, the allocation process starts

from the upper left-hand (Northwest) corner of the table.
– Begin with the upper left-hand cell, and allocate as many
units as possible to that cell.
• Thiswill be the smallerof the row supply and the
column demand.
• Adjust the row and column quantities
to reflect the allocation.
– Remain in a row or column until its supply or demand is
completely exhausted or satisfied
Example:

• Initial feasible solution (BFS) of the sugar factory

problem using the NWC method
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 6 10 9 35
35
Plant 2 * 9 * 12 * 13 7 50
10 20 20
Plant 3 14 9 * 16 * 5 40
10 30
Demand 45 20 30 30

NB: * indicates the occupied

cells
 Cont…

• In the above solution we can see that:

# of occupied cells = n+m-1
• Minimum Cost =
35(8)+10(9)+20(12)+20(13)+10(16)+30(5)

NB: =$1160

• The chief advantages of NWC method are that it is

simple to use and easy to understand.
• Its chief drawback is that it does not take transportation
costs into account, so it can yield an initial bfs that
has a very high shipping cost.
2. The Least Method (LCM)

• The minimum-cost method uses lowest cell cost as the

basis for selecting routes.
• The procedure is as follows:
– Identify the cell that has the lowest unit cost, and
allocate
a quantity to this cell
– Cross out the cells in the row or
column thathas been exhausted.
– Identify the cell with the lowest cost from the
remaining cells, and allocate a quantity to this cell
– Repeat the above steps until all SS and DD are
exhausted.
Example:

• Initial basic feasible solution (IBFS) of the sugar factory

problem using the LCM method
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 * 6 10 9 35
15 3rd 20 2nd
Plant 2 * 9 12 * 13 7 50
30 4th 20 5th
Plant 3 14 9 * 16 * 5 40
10 6th 30 1st
Demand 45 20 30 30

 Minimum Cost = 15(8)+20(6)+30(9)+20(13)+10(16)+30(5) =

$1080
II. Moving toward Optimality

 Evaluating the IFS for Optimality

– Thetest for optimality for an IFSinvolves a cost
evaluation of empty cells
• i.e., routes to which no units have been allocated to
see if an improved solution is possible.
– We consider two methods for cell evaluation:
1. The Stepping-stone method
2. The MODI method
1. The Stepping-stone method

• This method involves tracing a series of closed path in

the table, using one such path for each empty cell.
• The path represents a shift of one unit into an empty
cell
• It enables the analyst to know what impact on total cost
would there be if one unit were shifted into an
unused route.
• The result is a cost change per unit shift into a cell.
• The stepping-stone path also can be used to determine
the maximum amount that can be shifted into empty
cell.
 Cont
..
 Rules for tracing stepping-stone paths
– All unoccupied cells must be evaluated one at a time
– Except for the cell being evaluated, only add (+) or subtract (-)
in occupied cells.
– It is permissible to skip over unoccupied or occupied cells to
find an occupied cell from which the path can continue.
– A path will consist of only horizontal and vertical
moves starting and ending with the empty cell being
evaluated.
– Alternate ‘+’ and ‘–‘signs, beginning with a ‘+’ sign in the
cell being evaluated.
 The stepping Stone Path (Loop)

• An ordered sequence of at least four different cells is called a loop

(stepping step path) if:
– Any two consecutive cells lie in either the same row/ column
– No three consecutive cells lie in the same row or column
– The last cell in the sequence has a row or column in
common with the first cell in the sequence
 Example

• Consider the problem of an initial feasiblesolution

found using NWCM, and evaluate its optimality.
• The unoccupied cells to be evaluated are: P1-C2, P1-C3, P1-C4
and P2-C4, P3-C1 and P3-C2. Lets evaluate P1-C2, for instance:

To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 6 10 9 35
-
Plant 2 * 9 * 12 * 13 7 50
+ -
Plant 3 14 9 * 16 * 5 40

Demand 45 20 30 30
 Cont…

• The net impact of such a unit shift can be determined by adding the
cell costs with signs attached and noting the resulting value.
• Evaluation for Cell P1-C2, for instance, can be done as:
6-12+9-8=-5
• Evaluation for all other empty cells is shown below (Iteration 1)

Unoccupied Cell Reduced Cost

P1-C2 6-12+9-8 = -5
P1-C3 10-13+9-8 = -2
P1-C4 9-5+16-13+9-8 = 8
P2-C4 7-5+16-13 = 5
P3-C1 14-9+13-16 = 2
P3-C2 9-12+13-16 = -6 → results in higher cost
reduction
 DEVELOPING AN IMPROVED SOLUTION

 Developing an improved solution to a transportation

problem requires focusing on the unoccupied cell
that has the largest negative cell evaluation.
 Improving the solution involves reallocating
quantities in the transportation table.
 More specifically, we want to take advantage of the
improvement potential of cell P3-C2 by transferring
as many units as possible into that cell.
 Cont…

• Cells with negative evaluation indicate that a unit shift

in them will result in a cost reduction, so the solution
needs further improvement.
• In our case, cell P3-C2 should be the basic variable that
must be occupied in the next iteration since it results
in higher cost reduction.
– The + signs in the path indicate units to be added, the –
signs indicate units to be subtracted.
– The limit on subtraction is the smallest quantity in a
negative position along the cell path.
 Cont…

• In our example, there are two quantities in negative positions

associated with the P3-C2’s loop: P2-C2 (20) and P3-C3 (10)
• Take the minimum, i.e. 10, and add it in to and subtract it from
all four cells in that particular loop.
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 6 10 9 35
35
Plant 2 * 9 * 12 * 13 7 50
10 20 20
Plant 3 14 9 * 16 * 5 40
10 30
Demand 45 20 30 30
 Cont…

• Thus for the next table:

P3-C2 = 0 + 10 = 10 (0 is its current allocation)
P2-C2 =20 - 10 = 10
P2-C3 = 20 + 10 = 30
P3-C3= 10 - 10 = 0 (blank for the next tableau)
• All amounts in other cells remain unchanged.
• In the next iteration, we will be going through the
same procedure we have done in the first iteration.
• We will evaluate all unoccupied cells and
see if further improvement is possible.
 Cont…

• Improved solution in the first iteration

To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 6 10 9 35
35
Plant 2 * 9 * 12 * 13 7 50
10 10 30
Plant 3 14 * 9 16 * 5 40
10 30
Demand 45 20 30 30

• P3C3 is removed from the basic variables set while

P3C2 enters.
 Cont…

• Evaluation of empty cells (Iteration 2)

Unoccupied Cell Reduced Cost
P1-C2 6-12+9-8 = -5→ results in higher cost
reduction
P1-C3 10-13+9-8 = -2
P1-C4 9-5+9-12+9-8 = 2
P2-C4 7-5+9-12 = -1
P3-C1 14-9+12-9 = 8
P3-C3 16-9+12-13 = 6
• P1-C2 should be the basic variable that must be occupied in
the next iteration since it results in higher cost reduction.
• Improve the solution following the earlier procedure.
 Cont…

• Adding and subtracting the minimumnegative amount

in the P1C2 loop. i.e. 10 at cell P2C2, we develop the
improved solution.
• Improved solution in the second iteration
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 * 8 * 6 10 9 35
25 10
Plant 2 * 9 12 * 13 7 50
20 30
Plant 3 14 * 9 16 * 5 40
10 30
Demand 45 20 30 30
 Cont…

• Evaluation of empty cells (Iteration 3)

Unoccupied Cell Reduced Cost
P1-C3 10-13+9-8 = -2→ results in higher cost
reduction
P1-C4 9-5+9-6 = 7
P2-C2 12-9+8-6 = 5
P2-C4 7-5+9-6+8-9 = 2
P3-C1 14-8+6-9 = 3
P3-C3 16-9+6-8+9-13= 1
• P1-C3 should be the basic variable that must be occupied in
the next iteration since it results in cost reduction.
• Improve the solution following the earlier procedure.
 Cont…

• Adding and subtracting the minimumnegative amount

in the P1C3 loop. i.e. 25 at cell P1C1, we develop the
improved solution.
• Improved solution in the third iteration
To
From City 1 City 2 City 3 City 4 Supply
Plant 1 8 * 6 * 10 9 35
10 25
Plant 2 * 9 12 * 13 7 50
45 + 5
Plant 3 14 * 9 16 * 5 40
10 30
Demand 45 20 30 30
 Cont…

• Evaluation of empty cells [for Next Iteration]

Unoccupied Cell Reduced Cost
P1-C1 8-10+13-9= 2
P1-C4 9-5+9-6 = 7
P2-C2 12-6+10-13 = 3
P2-C4 7-5+9-6+10-13 = 2
P3-C1 14-9+13-10+ 6-9= 5
P3-C3 16-10+6-9= 3

Since all cell evaluations result in positive (+ve) values further

evaluation can not be done, and the current solution is optimal.
• So, the optimal solution is found
 Cont…

• The optimal solution is summarized in the following table

From To Quantity (in Cost

million quintals)

Plant 1 City 2 10 60
Plant 1 City 3 25 250
Plant 2 City 1 45 405
Plant 2 City 3 5 65
Plant 3 City 2 10 90
Plant 3 City 4 30 150
Total minimum transportation $1020
cost
 2. The MODI method

• The MODI (Modified Distribution) method of evaluating a

transportation solution for optimality:
- Involves the use of index numbers that are established for
the rows and columns.
• These are based on the unit costs of the occupied cells.
• They will be used to obtain the cell evaluations for empty
cells without the use of stepping-stone paths.
• There is one index number for each column and one for
each row.
 Cont…

• Index numbers are determined in such a way that for

any occupied cell, the sum of the row index and the
column index equal the cell's unit transportation
cost.
Row index + Column index = Cell cost
ui + vj= cij
• The process always begins by assigning a value of zero as
the index number of row 1.
• Once a row/column index has been established, it will enable
us to compute other index numbers.
 Cont…

• The cell evaluations for each of the

unoccupied cells are determined using the
relationship:
Cell evaluation = Cell cost – Row index – Column
index
eij=cij– ui–kj
• When cell evaluations are positive or zero, an optimal
solution has been found.
• If one or more is negative, the cell with the largest
negative should be brought into solution.
• It is because that route has the largest potential for
improvement per unit.
 Example:

• Consider the problem of an initial feasible solution

found using the NWCM, and evaluate its optimality Using MODI.
• The unoccupied cells to be evaluated are: P1-C2, P1-C3, P1-C4, P2- C4, P3-C1
and P3-C2

u1 =0

u2 =1

u3 =4

ν1 =8 ν2 =11 ν3 =12 ν4 =1
Finding Index numbers for each row and column

• Let: u1(row 1) = 0, where, U= row, V= Column

C11=u1 + ν1 8 =0+ ν1 C23= u2 + ν3
ν1 =8 13 =1+ ν3
ν3 =12

C22 =u2 + ν2 C33= u3 + ν3 16

12 = 1 + ν2 =u3+ 12
ν2 =11 u3 =4

C21 =u2 + ν1 C34= u3 + ν4

9 =u2 + 8 5 =4+ ν4
u2 = 1 ν4 =1
 Cont
…
• Evaluation of empty cells using the specified formula
eij=cij– ui–kj
Unoccupied Cells Reduced Cost
P1-C2 6-0-11= -5
P1-C3 10-0-12 = -2
P1-C4 9-0-1 = 8
P2-C4 7-1-1 = 5
P3-C1 14-4-8 = 2
P3-C2 9-4-11= -6 --- results in highest cost reduction

Entering variable: Cell P3-C2

 DEVELOPING AN IMPROVED SOLUTION

 Improving the Solution requires to look at the

stepping stone path of cell P3-C2.
- The stepping-stone path for that cell is necessary for
determining how many units can be reallocated while
retaining the balance of supply and demand for the table.
- The stepping-stone path also reveals which cells must have
quantity changes and both the magnitude and direction of
changes.
 Repeat the procedure until an optimal solution
has been found.
 Cont’d

With each iteration (new solution), it is necessary to

evaluate the empty cells to see if further
improvement is possible.

This requires use of either the MODI or the

Stepping-stone method. Both will yield the same
values.
 Cont’d

When cell evaluations are positive or zero, an

optimal solution has been found.
If one or more is negative, the cell with the largest
negative should be brought into solution because
that route has the largest potential for improvement
per unit.
 Cont…

• The optimal solution is summarized in the following table

From To Quantity Cost
(million
qunitals)
Plant 1 City 2 10 60
Plant 1 City 3 25 250
Plant 2 City 1 45 405
Plant 2 City 3 5 65
Plant 3 City 2 10 90
Plant 3 City 4 30 150
Total optimal minimum transportation $1020
cost
It matches with the stepping-stone solution
Special Issues in Transportation Problem

• There are a number of special issues in relation

to the transportation model. They are:
1. Alternate optimal solutions
2. Unbalance transportation problems
3. Degeneracy (too few occupied cells to permit evaluation
of a solution)
4. Unacceptable or prohibited route assignments
5. Maximization problems
 Cont
…
1. Alternate optimal solutions
– The existence of an alternate solution is signaled by an
empty cell’s evaluation in optimal table equal to zero.
– We can find the alternate solution by reallocating the
maximum number of units possible around the
stepping- stone path for that cell.
1. Unbalanced problem
– When there is unequal supply and demand
– Resolved by introducing dummy sources or dummy
destinations as necessary with cost coefficients of
zero
 Cont…
A dummy row is added if supply is less than demand and a
dummy column if demand is less.
• Example
To:
Project #1 Project #2 Projec Supply
From: t #3
To: 4 2 8
Project Project Projec Supply Farm A 50 50 100
From: #1 #2 t #3
4 2 8 5 1 9
Farm A 50 50 100 Farm B 150 50 200

5 1 9 7 6 3
Farm B 150 50 200 Farm C 120 120

7 6 3 0 0 0
Farm C 120 120 Dummy 80 80

Demand 50 150 300 Demand 50 150 300 500

DD≠ SS DD=SS
(Balanced)
 Cont…

3. Degeneracy
– A solution is degenerate if the number of occupied cells is
less than the number of rows plus the number of
columns minus one.
– i.e., there are too few occupied cells to enable all the empty
cells to be evaluated.
– To solve the problem, place a zero quantity in one of
unoccupied cells and proceed computing improvement
indices
– Other method is placing a delta () in one of the empty
cells.
 Cont…
• The delta represents an extremely small quantity (e.g. 0.001
unit).
• It is so small that supply and demand for the row and column
involved will be unaffected
• Example:

To Customer Custome Custome Warehous

From 1 e
r 2 r 3
supply
100 $8 $2 $6
Warehouse 1 100

 $10 100 $9 20 $9
Warehouse 2 120

$7 $10 80 $7
Warehouse 3 80
0
Custome 100 100 100 300
r
demand
 Cont…

4. Unacceptable Routes
• In some cases,an origin-destination combination may be
unacceptable.
• This may be due to weather factors, equipment breakdowns,
labor problems that may make certain routes undesirable.
• One way of overcoming the problem is to assign a cost that
is extremely large in that cell (or a very big +M).
- One rule of thumb would be to assign a cost that is 10 times
the largest cost in the table.
• The prohibited route may appear in a non-optimal solution,
but it will be eliminated by the time the optimal solution is
reached.
 Cont…
5. Maximization Problem
Some transportation type problems concern profits or revenues
rather than costs. In such cases, the objective is to maximize
rather than to minimize.
• Such problems can be handled by adding one additional
step at the start.
• i.e., converting the whole table in to opportunity cost table.
• Identify the cell with the largest profit and subtract all the
other cell profits from that value.
• Then replace the cell profits with the resulting values,
and use the regular procedure to solve.
 The Assignment Problem (AP)

The Assignment Problem(AP) refers to the class of

LPPs that involves determining the most efficient
assignment of tasks or other work requirements to work
centers or resources.
The problem of assignment arises because available
resources such as men, machines, etc have varying
degree of efficiency for performing different activities
such as job.
Therefore, cost, profit, or time of performing the
different activities is different.
 Cont’d

Criteria used may be costs, profits, efficiency,

performance…
In a balanced model number of jobs is
equal to numberof machines or persons (m=n).
In unbalanced problems dummy row/column will be added.
 Cont
…
Problem definition
– m workers are to be assigned to m jobs
– Each man/machine is loaded with one and only one job.
– Each man/ machine is independently capable of
handling any of the jobs being presented.
– A unit cost (or profit) Cij is associated with worker
i performing job j.
– Objective is to minimize the totalcost (maximize
the total profit) of assigning workers to jobs
 Solution Method for Assignment Problem

Step 1: Perform row operation/ row reduction

• Identify the minimum value/element in each row
– Construct a new matrix by subtracting the minimum value
from all the values in that row.
Step 2: Perform column operations/ column reduction
• Identify the minimum value/element in each column
– Construct a new matrix by subtracting the minimum value
from all the values in that column.
Step 3: Test for optimal assignment
Draw the minimum number of lines (horizontal, vertical, or both)
that are needed to cover all the zeros in the reduced cost matrix.
 Cont
…
– If the number of lines that cover the zeros equals the
number of rows/ columns an optimal assignment is
possible.
If the number of lines that cover the zeros fewer than the
number of rows/columns optimal assignment is not possible,
modify the table in this way:
Step 4: Find the smallest nonzero element (call its value k) in
the reduced cost matrix that is uncovered by the lines drawn in
step 3.
– Now subtract k from each uncovered element/value of
the reduced cost matrix and add k to elements/values
that lie at an intersections of two covering lines.
– Return to step 3.
 Example

A firm has four machines and four jobs to be completed. Each

machine must be assigned to complete one job. The time
required to set up each machine for completing each job is
shown below. It wants to minimize the total setup time needed
to complete the four jobs.
Setup Times for Machineco
Time (Hours)
Machine Job 1 Job 2 Job 3 Job 4
1 14 5 8 7
2 2 12 6 5
3 7 8 3 9
4 2 4 6 10
LP Model for the AP

• According to the setup table of the problem can be

formulated as follows (for i,j=1,2,3,4):
MinZ  14 X 11  5X 12  8X 13  7 X 14  2 X 21 12 X 22  6 X 23  5X 24
 7 X 31  8X 32  3X 33  9 X 34  2 X 41  X 42  6 X 43 10 X 44
s.t.X 11  X 12  X 13  X 14  1
X 21  X 22  X 23  X 24  1
X 31  X 32  X 33  X 34  1
X 41  X 42  X 43  X 44  1
X 11  X 21  X 31  X 41  1
X 12  X 22  X 32  X 42  1
X 13  X 23  X 33  X 43  1
X 14  X 24  X 34  X 44  1
Xij  0orXij  1
Solution
• Step 1: Row reduction
Time (Hours)
Machine Job 1 Job 2 Job 3 Job 4
1 9 0 3 2
2 0 10 4 3
3 4 5 0 6
4 0 2 4 8

• Step 2: Column reduction

Time
Machine Jo 1 (Hours)
Job 2 Jo 3 Job 4
1 b9 0 b3 0
2 0 10 4 1
3 4 5 0 4
4 0 2 4 6
Select a minimum uncovered element
 Solution

• Step 3: Draw the minimum number of lines

– Since the number of lines is only 3 we need to carry on our iteration
Select the minimum uncovered number
– The minimum uncovered element is 1 (circled in the previous
slide).
by selecting the minimum uncovered element (number)
• Revised Solution
Time s)
Machin Jo 1 (Hour
Job 2 Jo 3 Jo 4
e 1 b10 0 b4 b0
2 0 9 4 0
3 4 4 0 3
4 0 1 4 5
 Cont
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The minimum number of lines to cover all 0's is four.
– Thus, there is a minimum-cost assignment of 0's with this
tableau. The optimal solution is found.
• The optimal assignment is:

Machines Jobs Cost Total Cost

3 Job 3 3
4 Job 1 2
2 Job 4 5
1 Job 2 5 15 Hours
 Special Issues in Assignment Problem

1. Unbalanced Problems
• The problem is said to be unbalanced when the number of
rows is not equal to the number of columns
– OR, the number of jobs is not equal to the number of
workers.
• In such cases, dummy column(s)/row(s), whichever is
smaller in number, are introduced with zeros as the cost
elements.
• After this, the problem is solved in the usual manner.
• Solve the exercise given in the next slide
 Exercise

A 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. How
should the contractors be assigned to minimize total costs?

Cost (in birr)

Subcontractors A B C
Westside 50 36 16
Federated 28 30 18
Goliath 35 32 20
Universal 25 25 14
 Cont
…
2. Constrained/Prohibited/ Assignment Problems
– It happens sometimes that a worker cannot perform a
certain job or is not to be assigned a particular job.
– To cope with this situation, the cost of performing that job
by such person is taken to be extremely large (which is
written as M).
3. Multiple Optimal Solutions
– A situation wherein the various rows and columns, where
assignment are yet to be done, have all multiple zeros.
– All solutions are optimal and equally attractive
 Cont
…
4. Maximization Problems
• If the objective is to maximize the profit, we can solve it by
converting the entire table in to the opportunity cost table,
and use the usual procedure.
• This is achieved by subtracting each of the elements of the
given pay-off matrix from the largest value.
Example:
A company plans to assign 5 salesmen to 5 districts in which it
operates. Estimates of sales revenue in thousands of birr for each
salesman in different districts are given in the following table. In your
opinion, what should be the placement of the salesmen if the objective
is to maximize the expected sales revenue?
 Cont
…
• Data on the estimates of sales revenue (in thousands)

District
Salesman D1 D2 D3 D4 D5
S1 40 46 48 36 48
S2 48 32 36 29 44
S3 49 35 41 38 45
S4 30 46 49 44 44
S5 37 41 48 43 47