A TOOL TO VISUALLY EXPLAIN THE ZONES OF INFLUENCE OF SEVERAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS IN A NETWORK
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2016.v13.n3.a5Keywords:
Zone of influence, physical distribution, logistics, simulation, education.Abstract
The concept of zone of influence is bound to arise in a great variety of situations involving explanations about supply chain, logistics or physical distribution of goods or services. Although the concept itself is not particularly difficult to explain or understand, the classroom experience strongly recommends the use of drawing or any visual aid to obtain effective and fast results. This work is the result of the search for a tool which could not only provide a visual support that lecturers could easily use for their explanations but could also be capable of showing – visually – the effects on form and size of the zones of influence due to changes in the related variables. This work shows how the use of the conditional format resource in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet makes it possible to construct such a tool, bringing to any public, through a visual and simulation-like experience, a deeper understanding on the subject.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors must have a written permission from any third-party materials used in the article, such as figures and graphics. The permission must explicitly allow authors to use the materials. The permission should be submitted with the article, as a supplementary file.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after BJO&PM publishes it (See The Effect of Open Access).
