3. The table below shows the stock held at each supply point and the stock required at each demand point in a standard transportation problem. The table also shows the cost, in pounds, of transporting the stock from each supply point to each demand point.
| \cline { 2 - 5 }
\multicolumn{1}{c|}{} | Q | R | S | Supply |
| A | 23 | 18 | 12 | 45 |
| B | 8 | 10 | 14 | 27 |
| C | 11 | 14 | 21 | 34 |
| D | 19 | 15 | 11 | 50 |
| Demand | 75 | 37 | 44 | |
The problem is partially described by the linear programming formulation below.
Let \(x _ { i j }\) be the number of units transported from i to j
$$\begin{aligned}
& \text { where } \quad i \in \{ A , B , C , D \}
& \quad j \in \{ Q , R , S \} \text { and } x _ { i j } \geqslant 0
& \text { Minimise } P = 23 x _ { A Q } + 18 x _ { A R } + 12 x _ { A S } + 8 x _ { B Q } + 10 x _ { B R } + 14 x _ { B S }
& \quad + 11 x _ { C Q } + 14 x _ { C R } + 21 x _ { C S } + 19 x _ { D Q } + 15 x _ { D R } + 11 x _ { D S }
\end{aligned}$$
- Write down, as inequalities, the constraints of the linear program.
- Use the north-west corner method to obtain an initial solution to this transportation problem.
- Taking AS as the entering cell, use the stepping-stone method to find an improved solution. Make your route clear.
- Perform one further iteration of the stepping-stone method to obtain an improved solution. You must make your method clear by showing the route and the
- shadow costs
- improvement indices
- entering cell and exiting cell