Question
The Martin-Beck Company operates a plant in St. Louis with an annual capacity of 30,000 units. Product is shipped to regional distribution centers located in
The Martin-Beck Company operates a plant in St. Louis with an annual capacity of 30,000 units. Product is shipped to regional distribution centers located in Boston, Atlanta, and Houston. Because of an anticipated increase in demand, Martin-Beck plans to increase capacity by constructing a new plant in one or more of the following cities: Detroit, Toledo, Denver, or Kansas City. The estimated annual fixed cost and the annual capacity for the four proposed plants are as follows:
Proposed Plant | Annual Fixed Cost | Annual Capacity |
Detroit | $200,000 | 20,000 |
Toledo | $280,000 | 20,000 |
Denver | $360,000 | 10,000 |
Kansas City | $310,000 | 20,000 |
The company's long-range planning group developed forecasts of the anticipated annual demand at the distribution centers as follows:
Distribution Center | Annual Demand |
Boston | 35,000 |
Atlanta | 25,000 |
Houston | 10,000 |
The shipping cost per unit from each plant to each distribution center is as follows:
Distribution Centers | ||||||
Plant Site | Boston | Atlanta | Houston | |||
Detroit | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||
Toledo | 4 | 3 | 4 | |||
Denver | 9 | 7 | 5 | |||
Kansas City | 10 | 4 | 2 | |||
St. Louis | 8 | 4 | 3 |
Management wants to run a model that allows for any plant or set of plants to be open so that total cost is minimized. The variable costs for the proposed plant locations are estimated to be the following: Detroit ($4.43), Toledo ($4.32), Denver ($4.64), and Kansas City ($3.88).
We need an estimate of the fixed cost and variable cost at the current St. Louis plant. The file StLouisMB contains 15 observations from previous years that will allow us to estimate these.
Click on the datafile logo to reference the data.
(a) | Use simple linear regression, with total cost as the dependent variable (y) and volume as the independent variable (x). The model y = b0 + b1x will give you estimates of b1 = the per unit variable cost and b0 = annual fixed cost. Round the fixed cost estimate to the nearest dollar and the variable cost estimate to the nearest cent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(b) | Using the data given above for the proposed locations and the fixed and variable costs for St. Louis estimated in part (a), build an optimization model to minimize total cost to meet demand. If the constant is "1", it must be entered in the box. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Which plants are open? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Select your answer -Detroit and DenverDetroit and St. LouisSt. Louis and Kansas CityDetroit, Toledo, and Kansas CityDetroit, Toledo, and St. LouisDetroit, Toledo, and DenverItem 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is the total cost to meet demand? Do not round intermediate calculations. If required, round your answer to the nearest dollar. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ |
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