The computer distributor Riglen owns 3 warehouses. These are at Watford, Bristol, and Birmingham. Goods are delivered to retail outlets in London, Wales, the North West (NW), the North East (NE) and the South West (SW). Goods from the warehouses are delivered in standard size boxes. The requirements for one particular day last week are shown in the table below. Delivery requirements Retail outlets Number of boxes Number of boxes London 530 Wales 350 NW 450 NE 500 SW 400 It is not always possible to fully meet demand and any shortfall is made up on the next delivery. This was the case for the day being considered and following number of boxes were allocated for delivery to the 5 regions by the 3 warehouses: Watford(Wat): 500 boxes; Birmingham (Birm): 900 boxes Bristol (Bri): 500 boxes. The average cost per box is shown in the table below: Average cost per box Warehouse Wat Birm Bri Destination London 1.80 4.50 3.30 Wales 5.00 4.10 2.20 NW 5.00 3.40 4.70 NE 7.10 10.00 7.90 HA SW 2.90 4.70 2.10 Question 1 (15 marks) Use the transportation algorithm (North West Corner Rule and Stepping Stone Method) to allocate the goods from each warehouse to each retail outlet as cheaply as possible. What is the cost of your allocation? (Please show all the necessary workings and steps to gain the maximum possible marks) Question 2 (8 marks) Is there an alternative solution to the one found in part (a). What is it? (Please show all the necessary workings and steps to gain the maximum possible marks) Question 3 (3 marks) What would be the additional cost per box of using the Bristol to London route. Question 4 (4 marks) If more efficient vehicles could be used on the Birmingham to North East route the cost per box would be reduced. By how much does this cost have to fall before it becomes economic to use this route