Simple methods for uncapacitated facility location/allocation problems

Abstract

Facility location/allocation problems are encountered in many different areas of management science. The methods presented in the literature are complex and are not easily understood by practitioners who are not trained in the techniques of optimization. Simple heuristic methods are presented in this article. The methods are developed for three different types of uncapacitated problems: (1) unlimited facility capacity with no fixed cost; (2) unlimited facility capacity with a fixed cost for assignment; (3) multiperiod problems. Examples are included to illustrate the basic methods.