PrimeBeef.com supplies four major restaurant chains (Ponderosa, Ranchero, Bar H, and Tex Mex) in the Oklahoma City area with top grade steaks prepared and stored in three warehouses located in the north, south, and western parts of the city. It receives orders over the Internet daily, and every morning at 6:30 A.M. Deliveries are made to the restaurant locations. On July 23, PrimeBeef.com received orders of 2400 pounds from Ponderosa, 2000 pounds from Ranchero, 1600 pounds from Bar H and 2800 pounds from Tex Mex.
The following table gives the transportation costs per truckload from each PrimeBeef.com warehouse to each restaurant distribution location. Each Truckload consists of 400 pounds. If PrimeBeef.com has 3200 pounds of beef at each warehouse, how should it ship the beef from its warehouses to the restaurant distribution locations to minimize its total shipping cost?
| Ponderosa | Ranchero | Bar H | Tex Mex | |
| North | $90 | $55 | $75 | $75 |
| South | $65 | $90 | $50 | $65 |
| West | $45 | $40 | $35 | $55 |
Formulate this problem into a linear program and use Excel solver to solve for the optimal solutions.
Post your model and results on discussion board.
(Hint: you can convert # of pounds into # of truckloads for a clearer formulation)