Abstract

TRANSPORTATION OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR CEMENT DISTRIBUTION

Daniel, E. E.1 and P.O. Agada (Ph.D)2

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Determining an optimal cement distribution plan for Dangote Cement Company in Nigeria has remained a challenge. This is because no scientific method is on ground at the moment. The absence of data for estimating the cost of transporting cement from each source to each distribution centre is a big stumbling block whenever modeling attempts are being made via transportation algorithms. This work has succeeded in removing this challenge by providing a Transportation Optimization Model for Dangote Cement Distribution using transportation Distance Matrix instead of transportation Cost Matrix. Three plants namely; Ibese, Obajana and Benue plants and ten major distribution centers namely; Aba, Owerri, Benin, Ikeja, Ondo, Abeokuta, Enugu, Anambra, Kano and Maiduguri distribution centers have been identified for consideration. The optimal cement distribution plan for Dangote Cement Company using the existing truck capacity of 600 bags was obtained as follows; from Ibese to Ikeja, Ondo and Abeokuta, 2200, 332 and 1050 truck trips should be made respectively. From Obajana production plant, 1075, 1150, 1200, 768, 776, 1025 and 2500 truck trips should be made to Aba, Owerri, Benin, Ondo, Enugu, Anambra, and Kano distribution centers and finally from Gboko production plant, 424 and 2140 truck trips should be made to Enugu and Maiduguri. These distributions are to be done weekly. The result of the sensitivity analysis over the range of 700 ? 1200 bags truck capacity shows that, the total transportation distance and the optimal number of bags from each source to each destination reduces depicting an inverse relationship. Keywords: Transportation, Optimization, Model, Degeneracy, Supply, Approximation.

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