Problem 1 (35 points) The Easy Time Grocery chain operates in major metropolitan areas on the eastern seaboard. The stores have a no-frills approach, with low overhead and high volume. They generally buy their stock in volume at low prices. However, in some cases they actually buy stock at stores in other areas and ship it in. They can do this because of high prices in cities where they operate compared with costs in other locations. One example is baby food. Easy Time purchases baby food at stores in Albany, Binghamton, Claremont, Dover and Edison, and then trucks it to six stores in and around New York City. The stores in the outlying areas know what Easy Time is up to, so they limit the number of cases of baby food Easy Time can purchase. The following table shows the profit Easy Time makes per case of baby food based on where the chain purchases it and at which store it is sold, plus the available baby food per week at purchase locations and the shelf space available at each Easy Time store per week.

Formulate this transportation problem on a spreadsheet and use Excels Solver to determine where Easy Time should purchase baby food and how the food should be distributed to maximize profit (Provide the corresponding Excel Spreadsheet and the Sensitivity Report). Include managerial statements that communicate the results of the analyses, (i.e. describe verbally the results).

Profit ($/case):
Purchase	Easy Time Store
Location	1	2	3	4	5	6	Supply
Albany	$9	$8	$11	$12	$7	$8	26
Binghamton	$10	$10	$8	$6	$9	$7	40
Claremont	$8	$6	$6	$5	$7	$4	20
Dover	$4	$6	$9	$5	$8	$10	40
Edison	$12	$10	$8	$9	$6	$7	45
Demand	25	15	30	18	27	35