Optimal Location of Discretionary Service Facilities
Name
OR-231-90.pdf
Size
1.41 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7c0c64bf343f10388b0a13032d401a4e
Author(s)
Berman, Oded
Fouska, Nikoletta
Larson, Richard C.
Date Issued
November 1990
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Operations Research Center
Series/Report no.
Operations Research Center Working Paper;OR 231-90
Abstract
Automatic teller machines and gasoline service stations are two examples of a growing number of "discretionary service facilities." In consuming service from these facilities, a significant fraction of customers do so on an otherwise preplanned trip (e.g., on the daily commute to and from work). A system planner, in determining the best locations of such facilities, is more concerned with placing the facilities along paths of customer flow rather than, say, near the center of a cluster of residences or work places. We formally model this problem and present a method for determining the optimal locations of m discretionary service facilities so as to intercept the maximum possible potential customer flow. We also show how to determine the minimal number of facilities required to intercept a prespecified fraction of total customer flow. Computational results are included.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Operations Research Center
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