Solutions · Network
Design the network before you commit to it.
Test hubs, lanes, capacities and flows. See the recommended structure, the bottlenecks it avoids and the assumptions that could change the answer.
W → B → D → S — $130 per pallet, the cheapest of 8.
Every lane open: $130 per pallet, cheapest of 8
The lanes
| From | To | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse | Hub A | $40 |
| Warehouse | Hub B | $30 |
| Hub A | Hub B | $20 |
| Hub A | Hub C | $50 |
| Hub B | Hub D | $60 |
| Hub C | Hub D | $20 |
| Hub C | Store | $70 |
| Hub D | Store | $40 |
8 routes exist through these lanes, and every one of them is priced in the next column.
Every route priced
| Route | Cost |
|---|---|
| W → B → D → S | $130 — recommended best |
| W → A → C → D → S | $150 |
| W → A → C → S | $160 |
| W → A → B → D → S | $160 |
| W → B → A → C → D → S | $160 |
| W → B → A → C → S | $170 |
| W → B → D → C → S | $180 |
| W → A → B → D → C → S | $210 |
Warehouse → Hub B → Hub D → Store — $30 + $60 + $40 = $130. The next-best route costs $150.
Checks
- Passed: Every lane cost as quoted
- Passed: Route ends at the store
- Passed: All 8 possible routes priced
What this brief supplied
- Lanes
- Eight, each with a quoted cost
- From and to
- Warehouse to store
- Unit
- Cost per pallet
- Lane capacity
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. Each lane is treated as able to carry the pallet. A volume limit would rule out the cheapest route once enough pallets moved along it.
- Transit time
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. Cost is the objective here. The cheapest route is not automatically the fastest, and this brief does not say which matters more.
- Handling cost at hubs
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. Only the lanes are priced. A cost for touching a hub would penalise routes with more stops.
- How often a lane is unavailable
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. The what-if closes a lane on request. How likely that is in practice would change whether the cheapest route is the right standing plan.
Eight routes can be priced by hand. The reason to price them by machine is that a network with two more hubs has hundreds, and the cheapest one stops being obvious.
One lit path through the mesh
A faint mesh of possible connections; one path lights up. Every network decision reduces to which links carry the flow — and at what cost.
What you can decide
Decisions that travel along edges
Best paths
Shortest, cheapest, or most reliable — the way through a connected system, chosen on your terms.
Flows and throughput
How much can move through the network, where it bottlenecks, and what relieves it.
Hubs and lanes
Which hubs to run and which lanes to open when every link carries a fixed charge.
Supply chains end to end
From source to shelf across tiers, including multi-commodity flows that share capacity.
How it runs
Test the shape, then commit
Sketch the system
Nodes, links, capacities, and costs — described, not diagrammed.
Solve the flow
The checked answer shows which links carry what, and the total cost of the design.
Stress it
Close a lane, drop a hub, re-solve. The comparison shows what the change buys or costs.
More solutions