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SandyCo has two (2) facilities that mine, clean, and sort sand for use in cement, children's playboxes, and small beaches. They distribute the sand
SandyCo has two (2) facilities that mine, clean, and sort sand for use in cement, children's playboxes, and small beaches. They distribute the sand from their two (2) plants, through two (2) packaging centers (DCs), to three (3) different customer regions where it is packaged and sold. Each plant has a specific maximum weekly supply of available sand and each region has an expected minimum weekly required demand. The cost to distribute a ton of sand differs between each plant and region pairing due to distance and other factors. The maximum weekly supply from Plant 1 is 100 tons, from Plant 2 it is 125 tons. The expected minimum weekly required demand (in tons) is: Region 1: 25 Region 2: 95 Region 3: 80 The transportation costs in dollars per ton of sand are given in the table below. DC A DC B Plant 1 Plant 2 Region1 Region 2 Region 3 190 185 175 180 165 210 205 235 130 145 Part 1 0.0/1.0 point (graded) We know that the optimal solution to the problem shows a total cost of $69,200 per week. The solution has the following weekly flows: Plant 1 to DC B: 75 Plant 2 to DC A: 25 Plant 2 to DC B: 100 DC A to Region 1: 25 DC B to Region 2: 95 DC B to Region 3: 80 Input the flows above as decision-variables in your spreadsheet model. Don't run the solver. The spreadsheet will tell you that the total weekly cost is indeed $69,200 per week. You hear from a colleague using another solver that there is another good solution to the problem. He tells you to consider following weekly flows: Plant 1 to DC B: 75 . Plant 2 to DC A: 105 . Plant 2 to DC B: 20 DC A to Region 1: 25 DC A to Region 3: 80 DC B to Region 2: 95 Input the suggested flows instead of the flows from the lesson. What is the minimum weekly cost using the suggested flow volumes? Round your answer to the nearest integer. Part 2 0.0/1.0 point (graded) After discussions with a number of carriers, SandyCo realizes that transportation costs to DC A need to be updated. The new costs are $180 per ton from Plant 1 to DC A and $190 per ton from Plant 2 to DC A. How many tons of sand should be delivered from Plant 2 to DC B with the new costs? Round your answer to the nearest integer. Submit You have used 0 of 2 attempts Part 3 0.0/1.0 point (graded) Save After hearing that a rival sand distributor is facing economic difficulties, SandyCo wants to reconsider its demand estimates. Were the rival to default, SandyCo believes that their demand would increase by roughly 10% across the board, leading to the following minimum expected demands: Region 1 - 28, Region 2 - 105, and Region 3 - 87 tons respectively. How many tons of sand should be delivered from DC A to Region 3 if the expected minimum demand was to increase by the amount specified? Note that the costs from Part 2 still apply. Round your answer to the nearest integer. Save Part 4 0.0/1.0 point (graded) The rival firm did not default - so your demand is back to the original values (Region 1: 25, Region 2: 95, and Region 3: 80). The management of Plant 2 has suggested they may use some of the available space in the plant for an on-site packaging machine. With such a machine in place, Plant 2 would be able to bypass the DCs and ship directly to Region 1. Direct transport from Plant 2 to Region 1 costs $275 per ton. All other costs remain the same as in Part 2. If Plant 2 invests in a on-site sand packaging machine, how many tons of sand should be delivered directly from Plant 2 to Region 1? Round your answer to the nearest integer. Submit You have used 0 of 2 attempts Part 5 0.0/1.0 point (graded) Save After investing in the new machine, a breakdown in DC B reduces the weekly capacity of DC B to 80 tons. All other costs and demand remain the same as in Part 2. (Note that the bypass option from Part 4 remains.) How many tons of sand should Plant 1 produce if the capacity of DC B drops to 80 tons? There is no capacity constraint for DC A. Round your answer to the nearest integer.
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