Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Module 4 Lecture Notes 2 Transportation Problem Introduction In the previous lectures, we discussed about the standard form of a LP and the commonly used methods of solving LPP. A key problem in many projects is the allocation of scarce resources among various activities. Transportation problem refers to a planning model that allocates resources, machines, materials, capital etc. in a best possible way so that the costs are minimized or profits are maximized. In this lecture, the common structure of a transportation problem (TP) and its solution using LP are discussed followed by a numerical example. Structure of the Problem The classic transportation problem is concerned with the distribution of any commodity (resource) from any group of 'sources' to any group of destinations or 'sinks'. While solving this problem using LP, the amount of resources from source to sink will be the decision variables. The criterion for selecting the optimal values of the decision variables (like minimization of costs or maximization of profits) will be the objective function. And the limitation of resource availability from sources will constitute the constraint set. Consider a general transportation problem consisting of m origins (sources) O1, O2,, Om and n destinations (sinks) D1, D2, , Dn. Let the amount of commodity available in ith source be ai (i=1,2,.m) and the demand in jth sink be bj (j=1,2,.n). Let the cost of transportation of unit amount of material from i to j be cij. Let the amount of commodity supplied from i to j be denoted as xij. Thus, the cost of transporting xij units of commodity from i to j is cij xij .

Now the objective of minimizing the total cost of transportation can be given as
f = cij xij
i =1 j =1 m n

Minimize

(1)

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Generally, in transportation problems, the amount of commodity available in a particular source should be equal to the amount of commodity supplied from that source. Thus, the constraint can be expressed as
n

x
j =1

ij

= ai ,

i= 1 ,2, , m

(2)

Also, the total amount supplied to a particular sink should be equal to the corresponding demand. Hence,

x
i =1

ij

= b j,

j = 1 ,2, , n

(3)

The set of constraints given by eqns (2) and (3) are consistent only if total supply and total demand are equal.

a = b
i =1 i j =1

(4)

But in real problems this condition may not be satisfied. Then, the problem is said to be unbalanced. However, the problem can be modified by adding a fictitious (dummy) source or destination which will provide surplus supply or demand respectively. The transportation costs from this dummy source to all destinations will be zero. Likewise, the transportation costs from all sources to a dummy destination will be zero. Thus, this restriction causes one of the constraints to be redundant. Thus the above problem have m x n decision variables and (m + n - 1) equality constraints. The non-negativity constraints can be expressed as

xij 0 , i= 1 ,2, , m , j = 1 ,2, , n

(5)

This problem formulation is elucidated through an example given below.

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Examples

Problem (1) Consider a transport company which has to supply 4 units of paper materials from each of the cities Faizabad and Lucknow to three cities. The material is to be supplied to Delhi, Ghaziabad and Bhopal with demands of four, one and three units respectively. Cost of transportation per unit of supply (cij) is indicated below in the figure. Decide the pattern of transportation that minimizes the cost.

Solution: Let the amount of material supplied from source i to sink j be xij. Here m =2; n = 3. Total supply = 8 units and total demand = 4+1+3 = 8 units. Since both are equal, the problem is balanced. The objective function is to minimize the total cost of transportation from all combinations i.e.
f = cij xij
i =1 j =1 m n

Minimize

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem Minimize

f = 5 x11 + 3 x12 + 8 x13 + 4 x21 + x22 + 7 x23

(6)

subject to the constraints as explained below: (1) The total amount of material supplied from each source city should be equal to 4.
3

x
j =1

ij

=4

i= 1, 2

i.e.

x11 + x12 + x13 = 4 x21 + x22 + x23 = 4

for i = 1 for i = 2

(7) (8)

(2) The total amount of material received by each destination city should be equal to the corresponding demand.

x
i =1

ij

= b j,

j = 1 ,2, 3

i.e.

x11 + x21 = 4 x12 + x22 = 1 x13 + x23 = 3

for j = 1 for j = 2 for j = 3

(9) (10) (11)

(3) Non negativity constraints

xij 0 i = 1, 2; j=1, 2, 3

(12)

Thus, the optimization problem has 6 decision variables and 5 constraints. Since the optimization model consists of equality constraints, Big M method is used to solve. The steps are shown below.

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Since there are five equality constraints, introduce five artificial variables R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5. Thus, the objective function and the constraints can be expressed as Minimize
f = 5 x11 + 3 x12 + 8 x13 + 4 x 21 + 1 x 22 + 7 x 23 + M R1 + M R2 + M R3 + M R4 + M R5

subject to
x11 + x12 + x13 + R1 x21 + x22 + x23 + R2 x11 + x21+ R3 x12+ x22 + R4 x13+ x23+ R5 =4 =4 =4 =1 =3

Modifying the objective function to make the coefficients of the artificial variable equal to zero, the final form objective function is
f + (5 + 2M ) x11 + (3 + 2M ) x12 + (8 + 2M ) x13
+ (4 + 2M ) x21 + (1 + 2M ) x22 + (7 + 2M ) x23 0 R1 + 0 R2 + 0 R3 + 0 R4 + 0 R5

The solution of the model using simplex method is shown

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Table 1

First iteration
Basic variables Variables RHS x11 -5 +2M 1 0 1 0 0 x12 -3 +2M 1 0 0 1 0 x13 -8 +2M 1 0 0 0 1 x21 -4 +2M 0 1 1 x22 -1 +2M 0 1 0 x23 -7 +2M 0 1 0 0 1 R1 0 1 0 0 0 0 R2 0 0 1 0 0 0 R3 0 0 0 1 0 0 R4 0 0 0 0 1 0 R5 0 0 0 0 0 1 16M 4 4 4 1 3 4 1 Ratio

Z R1 R2 R3

R4 R5

0 0

1 0

Table 2

Second iteration

Basic variables Z R1 R2 R3 X22 R5

Variables RHS
x11
-5+2M 1 0 1 0 0

Ratio

x12
-1 1 -1 0 1 0

x13
-8+2M 1 0 0 0 1

x21
-4+2M 0 1 1 0 0

x22
0 0 0 0 1 0

x23
-7+2M 0 0 0 1 1

R1
0 1 0 0 0 0

R2
0 0 1 0 0 0

R3
0 0 0 1 0 0

R4
12M 0 -1 0 1 0

R5
0 0 0 0 0 1 1+14 M 4 3 4 1 3 3 4 -

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

Table 3

Third iteration

Basic variables Z R1 X21 R3 X22 R5

Variables RHS x11

-5+2M 1 0 1 0 0

Ratio

x12
-5+2M 1 -1 1 1 0

x13
-8+2M 1 0 0 0 1

x21 x22
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

x23
-7+2M 0 0 0 1 1

R1
0 1 0 0 0 0

R2
42M 0 1 -1 0 0

R3 R4
0 0 0 1 0 0 -3 0 -1 1 1 0

R5
0 0 0 0 0 1 13+8M 4 3 1 1 3 4 1 -

Table 4

Fourth iteration
Basic variables Variables RHS x11 0 0 0 1 0 0 x12 0 0 -1 1 1 0 x13 -8+2M 1 0 0 0 1 x21 0 0 1 0 0 0 x22 0 0 0 0 1 0 x23 -7+2M 0 0 0 1 1 R1 0 1 0 0 0 0 R2 -1 1 1 -1 0 0 R3 52M -1 0 1 0 0 R4 22M -1 -1 1 1 0 R5 0 0 0 0 0 1 18+6M 3 3 1 1 3 1 3 Ratio

Z R1 X21 X11 X22 R5

Repeating the same procedure, we get the final optimal solution f = 42 and the optimum decision variable values as : x11 = 2.2430, x12 = 0.00, x13 = 1.7570, x21 = 1.7570, x22 =
1.00, x23 = 1.2430.

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem Problem (2)

Consider three factories (F) located in three different cities, producing a particular chemical. The chemical is to be transported to four different warehouses (Wh), from where it is supplied to the customers. The transportation cost per truck load from each factory to each warehouse is determined and are given in the table below. Production and demands are also given in the table below. Wh1 F1 F2 F3 Demand Solution: Let the amount of chemical to be transported from factory i to warehouse j be xij. Total supply = 60+110+150 = 320 and total demand = 65+85+80+70 = 300. Since the total demand is less than total supply, add one fictitious ware house, Wh5 with a demand of 20. Thus, here m =3; n = 5 Wh1 F1 F2 F3 Demand 523 420 670 65 Wh2 682 412 558 85 Wh3 458 362 895 80 Wh4 850 729 695 70 Wh5 0 0 0 20 Production 60 110 150 523 420 670 65 Wh2 682 412 558 85 Wh3 458 362 895 80 Wh4 850 729 695 70 Production 60 110 150

The objective function is to minimize the total cost of transportation from all combinations. Minimize
f = 523 x11 + 682 x12 + 458 x13+ 850 x14 + 0 x15 + 420 x21 + 412 x22 + 362 x23 + 729 x24 + 0 x25 + 670 x31 + 558 x32 + 895 x33 +695 x34 + 0 x35

subject to the constraints

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2

Optimization Methods: Linear Programming Applications Transportation Problem

x11 + x12 + x13 + x14+ x15 = 60 x21 + x22 + x23 + x24+ x25 = 110 x31 + x32 + x33 + x34 + x35 = 150 x11 + x21+ x31 = 65 x12 + x22+ x32 = 85 x13 + x23 + x23 =90 x14 + x24 + x24 =80 x15 + x25 + x25 =20 for i = 1 for i = 2 for i = 3 for j = 1 for j = 2 for j = 3 for j = 4 for j = 5

xij 0 i = 1, 2,3; j=1, 2, 3,4

This optimization problem can be solved using the same procedure used for the previous problem.

D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore

M4L2