Question: Consider a distribution system for a single product which is manufactured at three plants (P1, P2 and P3) and needs to be shipped to two
- Consider a distribution system for a single product which is manufactured at three plants (P1, P2 and P3) and needs to be shipped to two markets (M1 and M2) through any of the two available warehouses (W1 and W2). Plant 1 has a capacity limitation of 100,000 units, while the other two plants have capacities of 500,000 units each. The demands at the two markets are 200,000 units at M1 and 400,000 units at M2. The per unit costs of distribution are given in the table below.
| FACILITY | P1 | P2 | P3 | M1 | M2 |
| W1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| W2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
If the production costs at all the plants are the same, suggest a distribution strategy specifying the quantities to be shipped from the plants through warehouses to the markets to achieve the minimum total cost of distribution. Use the heuristic: the routing will be done through that route for which the total cost of transporting is least and multiple sourcing for each market is allowed.
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