6. (a) Explain briefly the circumstances under which a degenerate feasible solution may occur to a transportation problem.
(b) Explain why a dummy location may be needed when solving a transportation problem. The table below shows the cost of transporting one unit of stock from each of three supply points \(A , B\) and \(C\) to each of two demand points 1 and 2 . It also shows the stock held at each supply point and the stock required at each demand point. (c) Complete the table below to show a possible initial feasible solution generated by the north-west corner method. (d) Use the stepping-stone method to obtain an optimal solution and state its cost. You should make your method clear by stating shadow costs, improvement indices, stepping-stone route, and the entering and exiting squares at each stage.