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Supply chain management Support tools and applications

Supply chain management Support tools and applications

Q Graphical solutions in LP have a limited number of decision variables. What is the maximum number? What is the solution that the graphical method presents to the operations manager?

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The decision variables of a LP can be defined as the variables those have the unknown value and can be used to make the decisions (Turban, 2015). In the method of graphical solutions, first each of the constraint has been drawn on the graph and then the optimal solution has been made from the graph. As the name suggests, each of the constraint in the linear programming can be represented by a straight line. The following is a general equation for the straight line: Y = a + bX Clearly, the equation has two variables, X and Y. So, it can be stated that the maximum number of decision variables in a LP would be 2. In general, the operation managers use the LP to find out the optimal solution. Among all the feasible solutions, the solution that provides the minimized cost or the maximized profit has been termed as the optimal solution. Using the graphical solution, the operations manager can get the clear idea about all the feasible solutions of a problem. One of the basic advantages of the graphical methods is that it