In: Operations Management
3. The Covington Paper Inc. would like to determine the location of its new DC which will serve their six manufacturing facilities in Midwest. Information is provided below.
|
Plants |
x- coordinate |
y coordinates |
Production in terms of # of TLs /period |
|
A |
6 |
20 |
220 |
|
B |
48 |
12 |
330 |
|
C |
25 |
36 |
560 |
|
D |
12 |
5 |
330 |
|
E |
30 |
50 |
225 |
|
F |
18 |
20 |
115 |
i. Finding the optimal location using the median method
Step 1:
The x-coordinates are rearranged in ascending order in a table corresponding to the production of the location.
And the cumulative production is calculated.
| Plants | x coordinates in ascending order | Production of the plant | Cumulative production |
| A | 6 | 220 | 220 |
| D | 12 | 330 | 550 |
| F | 18 | 115 | 665 |
| C | 25 | 560 | 1125 |
| E | 30 | 225 | 1450 |
| B | 48 | 330 | 1780 = N |
The median of the cumulative production can be found by N/2, (N/2)+1
N/2 = 890, (N/2)+1 = 891 these median values fall under the cumulative production range of 1125, therefore, the x-coordinate is 25.
Step 2:
The y-coordinates are rearranged in ascending order in a table corresponding to the production of the location.
And the cumulative production is calculated.
| Plants | y coordinates in ascending order | Production of the plant | Cumulative production |
| D | 5 | 220 | 220 |
| B | 12 | 330 | 550 |
| A | 20 | 115 | 665 |
| F | 20 | 560 | 1125 |
| C | 36 | 225 | 1450 |
| E | 50 | 330 | 1780 = N |
The median of the cumulative production can be found by N/2, (N/2)+1
N/2 = 890, (N/2)+1 = 891 these median values fall under the cumulative production range of 1125, therefore, the y-coordinate is 20.
The optimal location by the median method is (25,20)
b. )
Solution:
the optimal location formula is
Xp =
xPr /
Pr
Yp =
yPr /
Pr
x is the x coordinate of the plant location
y is the y coordinate of the plant location
And Pr is the production of each plant
| Plants | x | y | Pr | xPr | yPr |
| A | 6 | 20 | 220 | 1320 | 4400 |
| B | 48 | 12 | 330 | 15840 | 3960 |
| C | 25 | 36 | 560 | 14000 | 20160 |
| D | 12 | 5 | 330 | 3960 | 1650 |
| E | 30 | 50 | 225 | 6750 | 11250 |
| F | 18 | 20 | 115 | 2070 | 2300 |
Pr
= 1780 |
xPr
= 43940 |
yPr
= 43720 |
Xp =
xPr /
Pr
Xp = 43940 / 1780
Xp = 24.685
Yp =
yPr /
Pr
Yp = 43720 / 1780
Yp = 24.561
Therefore, the optimal location using center of gravity method is (24.685, 24.561)