Posted: April 11th, 2016

What is the main contributing factor leading to the location of the proposed raw material factory?

Factory Location Problem
A manufacturer of circuit board parts has factories in a city at the location coordinates shown below. Each coordinate unit (roughly 100 feet) represents a city block. The yearly demand at each factory is also given.
Factory
Demand
X Coordinate
Y Coordinate
Glen Mills
20,000
20
150
Media
7,000
55
45
Brandywine
5,000
80
90
Springfield
2,000
90
30
Management has decided to build a new factory to supply raw material to these factories. The location of the new factory should be central to the existing factories.
What should be the map coordinates of the new factory? Graph the locations of the four factories and the proposed raw material factory. Is the location of the proposed raw material factory where you expected it to be based on the coordinates of the other factories? Why or why not? What is the main contributing factor leading to the location of the proposed raw material factory?