Vogel's approximation method
The Vogelsche approximation method is a heuristic method in the field of operations research for solving a transport problem . This method is characterized by the fact that it comes very close to the optimum . However, the effort is compared to other methods, such as B. the north-west corner method or the matrix minimum method , comparatively high.
algorithm
- First, an auxiliary matrix with the opportunity costs , which consist of the difference between the two smallest values of each row and column created.
- Then the row or column with the highest opportunity costs is found in the auxiliary matrix.
- The lowest value is then found from this row or column. The maximum possible capacities are assigned to this field in the original matrix.
- If the supply or demand quantity is exhausted, the relevant column or row in the original matrix is padded with zeros and deleted in the auxiliary matrix.
- After each pass, the opportunity costs are recalculated and the assignment starts all over again.
- This method ends when all capacities are allocated.