ABSTRACT

There is another class of problems, however, for which one is free to choose any site and place the new facility there; it is called the continuous or universal facility location problem. This method can be used to determine the ideal location only when the sole consideration involved is transportation cost. The term “ideal” is used to stress the fact that on such a site, construction or placement of a facility may or may not be physically possible. It does, however, guide the analyst to the location(s) that would result in the minimum transportation costs; and if it should prove infeasible to utilize such a location, the “penalty” incurred by selecting an alternative location is better understood.