Northwest Corner Rule

A procedure for obtaining an initial feasible

solution to a transportation problem that starts
with allocating units to the upper left-hand corner
and ends in the lower right corner of any
transportation problem.
N

Extreme Northwest Level

W E

S
For Better Understanding
Example: The WSS Company sells desktop computers to IT
companies in Metro Manila, and ships them from three (3)
different area. The company is able to supply the following
numbers of desktop computers to IT companies by the
beginning of the year:

Distribution Warehouse Supply

Warehouse 1 100
Warehouse 2 200
Warehouse 3 300
Total 600
IT companies have ordered desktop computers that must
be delivered and installed by the beginning of the year.

IT Company Demand
AUS Link 100
SJS Networking Inc. 220
RFS Data Limited 280
Total 600
The Shipping Costs per desktop computer from each
distributor to each company are as follows

Destination

At
From A B C
Origin

1 7 5 9
2 10 12 10
3 6 3 14
Solution:

From/To A B C Supply
(Capacity
)
1 7 5 9 100

2 10 12 10 220
3 6 3 14 280
Demand 100 200 300 600
(Requiremen
t)
Step #1: Beginning in cell x1a which is the upper corner of
the tableau we allocate 100 units, exhausting demand in
column A.
From/To A B C Supply
(Capacity
)
1 7 5 9 100
100
2 10 12 10 220
3 6 3 14 280
Demand 100 200 300 600
(Requiremen
t)
Step #2: After that, move to column 2 cell x2B, where supply is
180 and demand is 200.

From/To A B C Supply
(Capacity
)
1 7 5 9 100
100
2 10 12 10 220 20
200
3 6 3 14 280
Demand 100 200 300 600
(Requiremen
t)
Step# 3. Staying in row 2, move to cell x2C and allocate 20
units, exhausting that row’s supply and leaving 280 units in
column C.

From/To A B C Supply
(Capacity
)
1 7 5 9 100
100
2 10 12 10 220 20
200 20
3 6 3 14 280
Demand 100 200 300 600
(Requiremen 280
t)
Step# 4. Staying in column C, move down to cell x3C and allocate
280 units, exhausting both the row and column quantities.

From/To A B C Supply
(Capacity
)
1 7 5 9 100
100
2 10 12 10 220 20
200 20
3 6 3 14 280
280
Demand 100 200 300 600
(Requiremen 280
t)
The total transportation cost for Northwest
Corner Rule

Source-Destination Quantity Shipped x Unit Cost Total Cost

x1A 100 x 7 700.00
x2B 200 x 12 2,400.00
x2C 20 x 10 200.00
x3C 280 x 14 3,920.00
Total Transportation Cost P 7, 220