Question $2$

$($Total: $20$ marks$)$

The three blood banks in Kuala Lumpur are coordinated through a central office that

facilitates blood delivery to three hospitals in the district. The delivery cost for a

standard blood container from each bank to each hospital, the number of containers

available at each bank, and the number of containers needed at each hospital are

provided in the table below.

a$)$ Formulate an initial feasible solution to the transportation problem using the

northwest corner rule.

b$)$ Evaluate each unused delivery route $($empty cell$)$ by applying the stepping$-$stone

method and compute all improvement indices. Summarise the results.