Applying Labeling Algorithm to Improve Sensitivity Analysis of Right-Hand-Side Parameters in Transportation Problems.

The right-hand side parameters of the transportation problem, such as supply or demand values, sometimes can be determined by managerial policy decisions, which evaluate the marginal values of changing the supply or the demand values. Parameters in the transportation problem are estimated in practice, herein, sensitivity analysis can provide the information to realize the perturbation range while a parameter changing, which might vary the shipping flows or the shipping patterns. The most well-known algorithm for solving the transportation problem is stepping stone method, which is performed in a transportation tableau. However, few papers investigate implementing sensitivity analysis by transportation tableau. This paper proposes two lemmas, and modifies the labeling procedures in a transportation tableau to obtain the larger perturbation range, considering the invariant changing rate of objective function value. Sensitivity analysis technique can be especially implemented under the circumstances that no more-for-less paradox and exists the multiple equivalence shadow prices of the transportation problem. Consequently, the results of sensitivity analysis can provide decision makers more practical information, and can reduce the computing efforts on obtaining the boarder perturbation ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]