What is unbalanced transportation problem ?

Hi Yash, To answer your query, “What do you mean by unbalanced transportation problem?”Unbalanced transportation problems are common in real-world logistics and supply chain scenarios. 

What is Meant by Unbalanced Transportation Problem?

An unbalanced problem in transportation is one where demand and supply are not equal. Depending on the situation, a dummy row or dummy column is introduced to this kind of problem to ensure that it is balanced.

For instance:

• Factory A: 100 units

• Factory B: 150 units

• Total Supply: 250 units

• Store X: 120 units

• Store Y: 180 units

• Total Demand: 300 units

This is an imbalanced transportation problem when the entire supply (250 units) is less than the total demand (300 units). To balance it:

• Create a dummy factory with a supply of 50 units (300 - 250 = 50).

• Assign a transportation cost of zero from the dummy factory to each store.

This way, the problem can be formulated and solved using standard transportation problem methods like the transportation algorithm or linear programming, ensuring all supply and demand constraints are met.

Read More:

When I was growing up, I was very confused about the term ‘unbalanced transportation problem’. It baffled me constantly until a dear friend told me the reason behind the unbalanced transportation problem and its meaning. I will share with you how to solve this problem as well. Take a look below to know everything I learned.

When the total number of units available at the supply origins or the sender’s location  is not equal to the total number of items available at the demand destinations or the receiver’s location, it is deemed as an unbalanced  transportation problem.

If the total production at a  factory is 10 units and total requirements at the warehouses is 8 units. There is a disproportionate difference in the value of demand and supply. In the long run this leads to massive financial loss for the supplier. This is an example of an unbalanced transportation problem.

The problem arises because of the difference in values in the availability at the origins and the total requirements at the destinations.

To fix the unbalanced transportation problem, dummy supplier sources and dummy destinations can be introduced.

I hope you now know what is unbalanced transportation problem.