TRANSPORTATION AND

ASSIGNMENT PROBLEMS

Transportation problem
Example
P&T Company produces canned peas.
Peas are prepared at three canneries (Bellingham,
Eugene and Albert Lea).
Shipped by truck to four distributing warehouses
(Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Rapid City and
Albuquerque). 300 truckloads to be shipped.
Problem: minimize the total shipping cost.

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P&T company problem

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Shipping data for P&T problem

Shipping cost per truckload in

Warehouse

Cannery

Allocation

Output

464

513

654

867

75

352

416

690

791

125

995

682

388

685

100

80

65

70

85

300

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Network representation

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Formulation of the problem

minimize Z

464 x11 513 x12 654 x13 867 x14 352 x21 416 x22
690 x23 791x24 995 x31 682 x32 388 x33 685 x34

subject to

x11 x12 x13 x14 75

x21 x22 x23 x24 125
x31 x32 x33
x11 x21
x12 x22
x13 x23

and xij

x34 100
x31 80
x32 65
x33 70

x14 x24 x34 85

(i 1, 2,3, 4; j 1, 2,3, 4)
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Constraints coefficients for P&T Co.

Coefficient of:
x11 x12 x13
1 1 1

x14
1

x21

x22

x23

x24

1
1

x32

x34

1
Warehouse
constraints

1
1

x33

Cannery
constraints

1
1

1
1

x31

1
1

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Transportation problem model

Transportation problem: distributes any commodity
from any group of sources to any group of
destinations, minimizing the total distribution cost.
Prototype example

General problem

Truckload of canned peas

Units of a commodity

Three canneries

m sources

Four warehouses

n destinations

Output from cannery i

Supply si from source i

Allocation to warehouse j

Demand dj at destination j

Shipping cost per truckload from

cannery i to warehouse j

Cost cij per unit distributed from

source i to destination j

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Transportation problem model

Each source has a certain supply of units to distribute
to the destinations.
Each destination has a certain demand for units to be
received from the source .
Requirements assumption: Each source has a fixed
supply of units, which must be entirely distributed to
the destinations. Similarly, each destination has a fixed
demand for units, which must be entirely received
from the sources.

114

Transportation problem model

The feasible solutions property: a transportation
problem has feasible solution if and only if
m

si
i 1

dj
j 1

If the supplies represent maximum amounts to be

distributed, a dummy destination can be added.
Similarly, if the demands represent maximum
amounts to be received, a dummy source can be
added.
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Transportation problem model

The cost assumption: the cost of distributing units
from any source to any destination is directly
proportional to the number of units distributed.
Thus, this cost is the unit cost of distribution times the
number of units distributed.
Integer solution property: for transportation problems
where every si and dj have an integer value, all basic
variables in every BF solution also have integer values.

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Parameter table for transp. problem

Cost per unit distributed

Source

Demand

1
c11

Destination
2

c12

n
c1n

Supply
s1

c21

cm1

c22

cm2

c2n

cmn

s2

d1

d2

dn

sm

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Transportation problem model

The model: any problem fits the model for a
transportation problem if it can be described by a
parameter table and if it satisfies both the
requirements assumption and the cost assumption.
The objective is to minimize the total cost of
distributing the units.
Some problems that have nothing to do with
transportation can be formulated as a transportation
problem.

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Network representation

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Formulation of the problem

Z: the total distribution cost
xij : number of units distributed from source i to destination j
m

minimize Z

cij xij ,
i 1 j 1

subject to
n

xij

si , for i 1, 2,

, m,

xij

d j , for j 1,2,

, n,

j 1
m

i 1

and

xij

0, for all i and j.

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Coefficient constraints
Coefficient of:
x12 ... x1n

x11
1

x21

... x2 n ... xm1

xm 2

... xmn

1
1

x22
1

Supply
constraints

1
1

1
1

1
1

1
1

Demand
constraints
1

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Example: solving with Excel

122

Example: solving with Excel

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Transportation simplex method

Version of the simplex called transportation simplex
method.
Problems solved by hand can use a transportation
simplex tableau.
Dimensions:
For a transportation problem with m sources and n
destinations, simplex tableau has m + n + 1 rows and
(m + 1)(n + 1) columns.
The transportation simplex tableau has only m rows
and n columns!

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Transportation simplex tableau (TST)

Destination
1

Source

c11

c12

c21

c22

cm1

cm2

d1

d2

m
Demand

Supply

c1n

s1

c2n

s2

cmn

sn

dn

Z=

ui

vj

Additional
information to be
added to each cell:

If xij is a basic
variable:
cij
xij

If xij is a nonbasic
variable:
cij
cij-ui-vj
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Transportation simplex method

Initialization: construct an initial BF solution. To begin,
all source rows and destination columns of the TST are
initially under consideration for providing a basic
variable (allocation).
1. From the rows and columns still under consideration,
select the next basic variable (allocation) according to
one of the criteria:
Northwest corner rule
Vogels approximation method
Russells approximation method

126

Transportation simplex method

2. Make that allocation large enough to exactly use up

the remaining supply in its row or the remaining

demand in its column (whatever is smaller).
3. Eliminate that row or column (whichever had the
smaller remaining supply or demand) from further
consideration.
4. If only one row or one column remains under
consideration, then the procedure is completed.
Otherwise return to step 1.
Go to the optimality test.

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11

Transportation simplex method

Optimality test: derive ui and vj by selecting the row
having the largest number of allocations, setting its
ui=0, and then solving the set of equations cij = ui+ vj
for each (i,j) such that xij is basic. If cij - ui - vj 0 for
every (i,j) such that xij is nonbasic, then the current
solution is optimal and stop. Otherwise, go to an
iteration.

128

Transportation simplex method

Iteration:
1. Determine the entering basic variable: select the
nonbasic variable xij having the largest (in absolute
terms) negative value of cij - ui - vj.
2. Determine the leaving basic variable: identify the

chain reaction required to retain feasibility when the

entering basic variable is increased. From the donor
cells, select the basic variable having the smallest
value.

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12

Transportation simplex method

Iteration:
3. Determine the new BF solution: add the value of the
leaving basic variable to the allocation for each
recipient cell. Subtract this value from the allocation
for each donor cell.
4. Apply the optimality test.

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Assignment problem
Special type of linear programming where assignees
are being assigned to perform tasks.
Example: employees to be given work assignments
Assignees can be machines, vehicles, plants or even
time slots to be assigned tasks.

131

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Assumptions of assignment problems

1. The number of assignees and the number of tasks are
2.
3.
4.
5.

the same, and is denoted by n.

Each assignee is to be assigned to exactly one task.
Each task is to be performed by exactly one assignee.
There is a cost cij associated with assignee i
performing task j (i, j = 1, 2, , n).
The objective is to determine how well n assignments
should be made to minimize the total cost.

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Prototype example
Job Shop Company has purchased three new
machines of different types, and there are four
different locations in the shop where a machine can be
installed.
Objective: assign machines to locations.
Cost per hour of material handling (in )
Location
1
2
3
4
1
13
16
12
11
Machine
2
15

13
20
3
5
7
10
6
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Formulation as an assignment problem

We need the dummy machine 4, and an extremely
large cost M:

Assignee
(Machine)

1
2
3
4(D)

Location
2
3

13
15
5
0

16
M
7
0

12
13
10
0

4
11
20
6
0

Optimal solution: machine 1 to location 4, machine 2

to location 3 and machine 3 to location 1 (total cost of
29 per hour).
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Assignment problem model

Decision variables xij

if assignee i performs task j,

if not.
n

minimize Z

cij xij ,
i 1 j 1

subject to
n

xij

1, for i 1,2,

, n,

xij

1, for j 1,2,

, n,

j 1
n

i 1

and

xij

0, for all i and j

( xij binary, for all i and j )

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Assignment vs. Transportation prob.

Assignment problem is a special type of transportation
problem where sources = assignees and destinations =
tasks and:
#sources m = #destinations n;
every supply si = 1;
every demand dj = 1.

Due to the integer solution property, since si and dj are

integers, every BF solution is an integer solution for an
assignment problem. We may delete the binary
restriction and obtain a linear programming problem!

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Network representation

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Parameter table as in transportation

Cost per unit distributed
Destination

Source

1
2

m=n
Demand

1
c11
c21

2
c12
c22

n
c1n
c2n

Supply
1
1

cn1
1

cn2
1

cnn
1

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Concluding remarks
A special algorithm for the assignment problem is the
Hungarian algorithm (more efficient).
Therefore streamlined algorithms were developed to
explore the special structure of some linear
programming problems: transportation or assignment
problems.
Transportation and assignment problems are special
cases of minimum cost flow problems.
Network simplex method solves this type of problems.

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