A Manufacturing Firm Has Four Plants and Wants to Find

Multiple Choice

A manufacturing firm has four plants and wants to find the most efficient means of meeting the requirements of its four customers. The relevant information for the plants and customers, along with shipping costs in dollars per unit, are shown in the table below:
$$\text{Customer (requirement) }\\\begin{array} { l c c c c } &&Customer ~2 &Customer ~3& Customer ~4\\\text { Factory (capacity) }&\text{ Customer } 1 ( 125 ) & ( 150 ) & ( 175 ) & ( 75 ) \\ A ( 100 ) & \$ 15 & \$ 10 & \$ 20 & \$ 17 \\ \mathrm {~B} ( 75 ) & \$ 20 & \$ 12 & \$ 19 & \$ 20 \\ \mathrm { C } ( 100 ) & \$ 22 & \$ 20 & \$ 25 & \$ 14 \\ \mathrm { D } ( 250 ) & \$ 21 & \$ 15 & \$ 28 & \$ 12 \end{array}$$
Which type of network optimization problem is used to solve this problem?

A) Maximum-Cost Flow problem
B) Minimum-Cost Flow problem
C) Maximum Flow Problem
D) Minimum Flow Problem
E) Shortest Path Problem