Using a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and Solver, design a model to minimise the costs of delivery, showing which centres to use and how much they should deliver.

Pecha Kucha Presentation

The Magma Manufacturing Company delivers various white goods (major appliances such as fridges, freezers, washing machines, etc) by light truck, from its national UK distribution centres to eight retail outlets in the UK. The management have asked you to see if you can make this more efficient – the company costs and delivers in standard pallets. To do this you must find a way to minimise itst delivery costs. You have the following information:

The company distribution centres are designated: Distribution Centre A (DA), Distribution Centre B (DB), and Distribution Centre C (DC).
The retail centres are designated: Retail Centre 1 (R1), Retail Centre 2 (R2) and so on, up to Retail Centre 8 (R8).
Delivery costs per standard pallet are as follows:
Cost per Pallet Delivery

R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 D8
DA 2.30 3.00 2.35 2.10 2.25 3.00 2.50 3.20
DB 1.95 2.25 3.90 4.00 1.60 2.25 3.90 4.20
DC 3.45 2.50 1.90 1.10 4.00 2.20 3.10 2.15

Retail Centre Demand (Pallets)

R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 D8
Demand 1,400 1,200 2,700 3,400 2,100 1,300 1,050 600

Distribution Centre Maximum Pallet Capacity

DA 7,000
DB 8,500
DC 10,000
Task
Draw a diagram showing the decision variables of the distribution centres and retail outlets.

Define the objective formula.

Using a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and Solver, design a model to minimise the costs of delivery, showing which centres to use and how much they should deliver.

Week 5: Supply Chain Modelling covers the technical aspects of building a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Solver for this assignment.

Identify the costs.
Incorporate the following changes and model the new delivery cost schedule.
Retail Centre 4 (R4) experiences a fire and has to close, reducing demand to 0.
Local wage negotiations mean Distribution Centre B (DB) costs per pallet increase by 1.00 per pallet for each retail centre.

Prepare the presentation with appropriate images, including screenshots, transportation and goods type, and clearly describing the Excel Solver, the formulas used and the results of your modelling.

Advise the company of the advantages and limitations of the use of Excel Solver in this instance.
Additional Guidance

This assignment asks you to create a modelling tool for an organisation in the form of a minimum cost optimiser. You will need to be concise to do this, and do some analysis of your results and the advantages and limitations of your approach. The spreadsheet layout is important and you will find using the techniques covered in

Week 5 on Supply Chain Modelling important. Details such as the formula and modelling results will enhance its practicality and future usability. While this is a technical assignment, you should use references where appropriate to support your approach and analysis.

Screenshots and diagrams will enhance this presentation and these should be clear and referred to in your voiceover and notes.

A good piece of work will be professionally presented and logically structured, with a good standard of written English.

You must not cut and paste phrases or paragraphs from published sources without appropriately citing them. You should seek to use your own words to explain concepts and theories, while acknowledging the work of other scholars.
Structure

The presentation should have a similar structure to an informal report, with:
Title
Introduction
Information Section
Conclusion
References

Your assignment should be submitted as:

A presentation file (.pptx format) with voiceover, including presenter notes in the ‘notes’ area that you used for your performance (500 words).

For guidance on how to add narration to your PowerPoint presentation, please watch this video: https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/video-record-presentations-2570dff5-f81c-40bc-b404-e04e95ffab33 (Links to an external site.)