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Linear Programming: Simplex Method

Simplex Method: Amity Business School Problems with more than two decision variables can be solved by using a systematic procedure called the Simplex Method. This method was developed by George Dantzig and involves a systematic and procedure having fixed rules that lead to a solution to the problem in a finite number of steps.

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Simplex method can be applied to solve any problem formulated in terms of linear objective function subject to a set of linear constraints. It has no restrictions placed on the number of decision variables or constraints in a problem

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Simplex Table
Simplex method makes use of a simplex table, which can be constructed in many ways.. Objective Function:
Maximize Z = C1X1 + C2X2 +........+CnXn Subject to the constraints: A11X1 + A12X2 +............A1nXn < b1 A21X2 + A22X2 +............A2nXn < b2 ............................................. Am1X1 + Am2X2 +...........AmnXn < bm And X1, X2,.........,Xn > 0

 The above problem is first converted into the standard form by introducing slack variables as shown below:

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Objective Function: Maximize Z = C1X1 + C2X2 +........+ CnXn + 0s1 + 0s2 + .....+ 0sm Subject to the constraints: A11X1 + A12X2 +............A1nXn + s1 = b1 A21X2 + A22X2 +............A2nXn + s2 =b2 ............................................. Am1X1 + Am2X2 +...........AmnXn + sm= bm

Simplex Table:
Cj CB Basic variables Solution variables C1 C2...Cn Coefficient matrix
Amity Business School 0 0......0

Identity Matrix

Minimum Ratio (bi)

X1 X2....Xn
0 0 s1 s2 b1 b2 A11 A12...A1n A11 A12...A1n

s1 s2..sm
1 0.....0 1 0.....0

0
... 0 Contribution loss per unit Zj = Cbi Aij Net contribution

s3
..... sm

b3
.... bm

...........................................
.......................................... An1 An2...Ann 0 0..........0 0 0........1 0 0......0 Z= CBXB Index row

C1 C2...C3

0 0........0

 Standaerd form of LPP can be summarized in a tabular form as follows: The first row of the simplex table contains the coefficients obtained directly from the objective functions. The values of these variables (Cj) will remain same in all the succeeding tables.

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 The second row provides the major column headings for the table and these headings remain unchanged in the succeeding tables of the simplex method. The first column (CB) is called the objective column and contains the coefficients of the basic variables in the objective function. The second column which happen to be the slack variables in the initial simplex table.

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 The third column contains information about the resources or the values of the corresponding basic variables. Each simplex table contains an identity matrix, which represents the coefficients of the slack variables that have been added to the constraints to make them equations. The number Aij in the coefficient matrix can take either positive, zero or negative values.

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 The row labeled Zj contains the sum of the numbers in the Cb column and the corresponding coefficients under each column variable in the table. The last row is called index row and contains the values obtained by subtracting the Zj value from the corresponding Cj value.

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 Lastly, the value of the objective function for the current iteration is obtained by adding the products of the numbers in Xb column and the corresponding numbers in the Cb column. This value is represented at the right side bottom end of the table.

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Simplex Table:
Cj CB Basic variables Solution variables C1 C2...Cn Coefficient matrix
Amity Business School 0 0......0

Identity Matrix

Minimum Ratio (bi)

X1 X2....Xn
0 0 s1 s2 b1 b2 A11 A12...A1n A11 A12...A1n

s1 s2..sm
1 0.....0 1 0.....0

0
... 0 Contribution loss per unit Zj = Cbi Aij Net contribution

s3
..... sm

b3
.... bm

...........................................
.......................................... An1 An2...Ann 0 0..........0 0 0........1 0 0......0 Z= CBXB Index row

C1 C2...C3

0 0........0

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Unit Vector Each tableau represents a basic feasible solution to the problem.
A simplex solution in a maximization problem is optimal if the CZ row consists entirely of zeros and negative numbers (i.e., there are no positive values in the bottom row). When this has been achieved, there is no opportunity for improving the solution.

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Select the leaving variable as the one that has the smallest nonnegative ratio of quantity divided by substitution rate.

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Interpreting the Second Tableau

At this point, variables s1, x1, and s3 are in solution. Not only are they listed in the basis, they also have a 0 in row C Z. The solution at this point is s1 = 56, x1 = 11, and s3 = 6. Note, too, that x2 and s2 are not in solution. Hence, they are each equal to zero. The profit at this point is $660, which is read in the Quantity column in row Z. Also, note that each variable in solution has a unit vector in its column.

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Interpreting the Third Tableau

In this tableau, all of the values in the bottom row are either negative or zero, indicating that no additional potential for improvement exists. Hence, this tableau contains the optimal simplex solution, which is s1 = 24 x1 = 9 x2 = 4