Answer:
The answer is True.
Explanation:
The center of gravity method is a concept under <em>Operations Management</em> as it relates to facilities distribution such as warehouses or fulfillment centers.
Center of Gravity Strategy/Method is defined as a concept that seeks to calculate geographic coordinates for a potential single new facility that will minimize costs. Under this approach the main factors considered are:
- Cost of Shipping
- Markets
- Volume of goods shipped
Operations managers prefer to use this approach in siting the location of their facilities because:
- It minimizes cost.
- It is simple to compute
- It takes in to consideration existing facilities
How to use the Center of Gravity Method
Step 1:
- Place existing facility(ies) such warehouse, fulfillment center, and distribution center locations in a coordinate grid.
- situate the grid on an ordinary map.
- The distances between the facilities must be noted.
Step 2:
Then, using the equations below,
Fx= ∑ dix Vi/ ∑ Vi
Fy= ∑ diy Vi/ ∑ Vi
Proceed to calculate the X and Y coordinates using these equations where Fx is the X (horizontal axis) coordinate for the new facility, and
Fy is the Y (vertical axis) coordinate for the new facility, dix is the X coordinate of the current location, diy is the Y coordinate of the existing location, and Vi is the volume of goods moved to or from the <em>i</em>th location.
Step 3:
After you have obtained the X and Y coordinates place that location on the map.
This approach allows for point of departure – or, literally, a starting point of where (from the perspective of longitude and latitude) you options are for where to grow your fulfillment or logistics network.
Cheers!