View the model
Download the model

Supply Chain/Network Flow Optimization Model in What'sBest!															
   This is a general What'sBest! model for supply chain network design.															
The network structure is defined by:															
    a) a set of nodes, e.g., Plants, Warehouses/DCs, Customers, and															
    b) a set of links/arcs, listing pairs of nodes, corresponding to allowed shipment options.															
  Each node has a: Name,  Supply or Demand amount, and a Fixed cost of including the node in the network,															
  If we wish to include a specific node in the network, we must pay a fixed, volume independent cost to use it.															
  Each link or arc has a From node, To node, Cost/unit flow, and Capacity.															
      The limit on the number of arcs is the row limit of Excel, about 1M.															
															
  The problem is to determine: Which nodes(facilities) to use, and the flow over each arc, so as to															
      Minimize total cost of the flow + Fixed cost of nodes used;															
         subject to															
      Flow on each arc <= capacity of the arc,															
      Flow into each node >= flow out of the arc,															
									To add a Node:						
									    1) Insert an additional row in the Node tab.						
									    2) Copy an existing row into it, to get formulae into it.						
Verify that:								    3)  Enter data into:						
 WB | Advanced | String Support , is turned on in What'sBest!.			Node-name and supply.						
									To add a Link/Arc:						
	                                                                    1) Insert an additional row in the "Arcs" tab.						
									    2) Copy an existing row into it, to get formulae into it.						
									    3) Enter data in the From, To, Cost, and Cap columns						
															
Verify that Excel has correctly updated the Totals formulae on the Nodes and Arcs sheets.						
The Node names must be unique.						
Insertions should be made in the interior of a range. 						
This will force SUM functions to automatically 						
expand to include inserted rows.						
You must be consistent in entering node names, specifically:						
watch out for leading or trailing blanks in node names, and						
be consistent in the capitalization(or not) of characters in names.						
E.g. "WhsX " is not the same as "WhsX", and "Whsx" is not the same as "WhsX".