Files
Abstract
Exact and approximate procedures for the selection of plant locations are reviewed. An improved version of an approximate procedure developed by Hardy is described that makes use of the SAS computer package. This procedure for site selection introduces a check for dominance among the set of alternative sites. It provides a complete printout of the selection process including optimum sites for systems ranging from one plant to any desired maximum number of plants, product allocation for each system, and the cost of selecting non-optimum combinations. A method of searching for superior site combinations is suggested that is potentially useful for checking systems with small numbers of plants. It is shown that the Hardy algorithm, which relies on a combination improvement check at each step, may fail to find the optimum site set in situations where two sites should be deleted from a previous combination of locations. Instructions for use of the program are included and sample problems provided which illustrate potential applications to pricing and allocation questions.