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After processing, the tanks will be shipped to customers in Stratford, Stinnett, Perryton, Claude, Hereford, and Channing. The cost of shipment depends on metrics similar

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After processing, the tanks will be shipped to customers in Stratford, Stinnett, Perryton, Claude, Hereford, and Channing. The cost of shipment depends on metrics similar to those mentioned above. The following table provides the total costs (in dollars) of shipping one tank from the processing centers to the customers. Note that certain combinations of processing facilities and customers are not possible due to factors such as regional non-compete clauses; these are indicated by dashes. The current customer demands are: Stratford, 9 tanks; Stinnett, 10; Perryton, 7; Claude, 8; Hereford, 6; and Channing, 7 . Additionally, due to a competitor's bankruptcy, Nortex will be acquiring 9 tanks of processed byproducts that are currently located at a yard in Morse. Because these tanks are already processed, a third-party company can ship these tanks directly to customers in Stratford (at a cost of $546 per tank), Stinnett (at a cost of $485 per tank), and Perryton (at a cost of $365 per tank) without needing to go through one of the processing centers. Unless other arrangements are made and approved by the instructor, your submission for this project is due, without exception, by 5:00 p.m. CST on November 15, 2023. Submissions turned in by 5:00 p.m. CST on November 8,2023 , will receive a bonus of 10 points. Nortex Chemicals, Inc. is involved in the natural gas processing industry in the Texas Panhandle. One of its primary operations involves purchasing large tanks, each roughly the size of a rail car, of particular byproducts from natural gas processing. It further purifies these byproducts into a usable form, and then resells the tanks to industrial customers. Presently, Nortex is in possession of 16 tanks in Canadian, 13 tanks in Spearman, and 12 tanks in Vega. Each tank must be shipped by truck to one of its processing centers, which are located in Dalhart, Pampa, and Canyon, for further refinement. The cost of shipment depends roughly on distance, but also takes into account the driver's salary (which is higher for routes that are difficult to navigate in a truck), the cost of fuel, and hazardous materials permit fees. The following table provides the total costs (in dollars) of shipping one tank from the suppliers to the processing centers. While the three processing centers are capable of processing any number of tanks, the number transported to Dalhart must equal the number transported to Canyon, due to an existing agreement between Nortex and its transportation provider. After processing, the tanks will be shipped to customers in Stratford, Stinnett, Perryton, Claude, Hereford, and Channing. The cost of shipment depends on metrics similar to those mentioned above. The following table provides the total costs (in dollars) of shipping one tank from the - A network diagram showing the origins and their capacities, the hubs, the destinations and their demands, the possible connections, and their respective costs. The diagram must be fully labeled. The diagram may be hand-drawn, as long as it is legible. - An integer program formulation which is used to optimize the distribution system. You may choose to label the objective function and constraints, if desired. - The Excel spreadsheet containg your formulation, Solver setup, and the solution provided by Solver. (You will not receive credit for a solution that is manually coded without being found via Solver.) Make sure that the names of all group members are on the spreadsheet before submitting it. - A narrative discussion of at least two pages explaining in detail the problem, the logic behind the choice of methodology used, the development of the integer program, the process of how the analysis was performed, the possible issues in the model and the remedies for it, and the final decisions and recommendations, along with justifications. Your project will be assessed on the quality of the writing, the appropriateness of the process used, and the correctness of your solution and recommendations. Finally, please note that everyone in the class is submitting a report for the same project case. While you may ask other classmates (and the instructor and TAs) for ideas or assistance, your work must be your own (i.e., individually or that of your group members). If multiple groups submit reports that are identical or sufficiently similar, based on the estimation of the instructor. all parties in question will receive a score of 0 on this project and be subject to disciplinary action for academic dishonesty, as indicated in the syllabus. Submission of a report using information Nortex has partnered with you to conduct an analysis and to make a recommendation that will help it to increase profitability by optimizing the performance of its natural gas byproducts distribution network. In summary, you must develop a distribution network and the corresponding integer programming model, perform an appropriate analysis using Excel, recommend a distribution system to be implemented by Nortex, and present a formal business report discussing your findings and conclusions. To receive full credit for this project, your business report must contain the following items. You may deviate from the given order if you desire; however, it is your responsibility to ensure that all required items are included in your submission and that the order is logical. All items must be typed unless otherwise specified. - A cover page with the names and UTSA IDs (abc123) of all group members. You may work individually or in a group consisting of a maximum of five students. No names may be added to this cover page after submission, and individuals whose names have been handwritten will not be considered part of the group. - An executive summary of no more than one page summarizing the problem, the process used to solve the problem, and the major findings and recommendations based on your analysis. - A network diagram showing the origins and their capacities, the hubs, the destinations and their demands, the possible connections, and their respective costs. The diagram must be fully labeled. The diagram may be hand-drawn, as long as it is legible. - An integer program formulation which is used to optimize the distribution system. You may choose to label the objective function and constraints, if desired. - The Excel spreadsheet containg your formulation, Solver setup, and the solution provided by Solver. (You will not receive credit for a solution that is manually coded without being found

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