An Efficient Branch and Bound Algorithm for the Warehouse Location Problem

An efficient branch and bound algorithm for a special class of mixed integer programming problems called the warehouse location problem and an improved method of solving the linear programming problems at the nodes which substantially reduces the computations are introduced.

Abstract

This paper introduces an efficient branch and bound algorithm for a special class of mixed integer programming problems called the warehouse location problem. A set of branching decision rules is proposed for selecting warehouses to be constrained open and closed from any node of the branch and bound tree. These rules are tested for their efficiency in reducing computation times and storage requirements to reach optimal solutions. An improved method of solving the linear programming problems at the nodes which substantially reduces the computations is also introduced in this paper.