Sinclair Plastics operates two chemical plants that produce polyethylene: the Ohio Valley plant, which can produce up to 10,000 tons per month, and the Lakeview plant, which can produce up to 7,000 tons per month. Sinclair sells its polyethylene to three different auto manufacturing plants: Grand Rapids (demand = 3,000 tons per month), Blue Ridge (demand = 5,000 tons per month), and Sunset (demand = 4,000 tons per month). The cost of shipping between the respective plants is shown in the table below.
Grand Rapids Blue Ridge Sunset
Ohio Valley 50 40 100
Lakeview 60 50 75
A. Use Excel Solver to obtain the optimal shipping plan. Obtain an Answer Report and a Sensitivity Report. What is the optimal shipping plan? What is the optimized cost?
B. Suppose the LakeView plant was required to run at capacity. Use Excel Solver to obtain the optimal shipping plan in this case. Obtain an Answer Report. How much more would the shipping plan cost Sinclair Plastics in this case relative to the plan found in Part a?
C. Suppose the shipping capacity between any two plants was limited to 2500 tons per month. Use Excel Solver to obtain the optimal shipping plan. Obtain an Answer Report. How much more would the shipping plan cost Sinclair Plastics in this case relative to the plan found in Part a?