| Abstract: | This paper extends the standard stepping-stone method to the case of capacitated transportation problems. The purpose is to offer an alternative to network-oriented or simplex-based methods (such as the out-of-kilter and upper-bounding techniques) often used in handling the capacitated transportation problem but generally beyond the scope of introductory decision sciences courses. The proposed procedure is based on the simple stepping-stone method and requires only a few modifications in the cost/assignment matrix and some alterations in the pivoting rules. As such, it is much easier to understand and apply than the above-mentioned solution algorithms. It therefore can serve as an effective tool for teaching capacitated transportation problems. Two numerical examples illustrate applications of the proposed method, procedures for sensitivity analysis, and comparisons with linear programming. |
