I. Description of the ProblemDarby Company is re-evaluating its current production and distribution system to determine if it is profitable or if a different approach should be considered. The company produces meters that measure electrical energy consumption. Currently, they produce these meters at two locations: El Paso, Texas, and San Bernardino, California. The San Bernardino plant is newer and therefore the technology is more efficient, meaning their unit cost is $10.00, while the El Paso plant produces at $10.50. However, the El Paso plant has a higher capacity of 30,000 seats compared to 20,000 in San Bernardino. Once manufactured, the meters are sent to one of three distribution centers – Ft. Worth, Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Las Vegas. Due to El Paso's proximity to Ft. Worth it, these are just plants to ship to Ft. Value. The costs associated with each shipment are described in detail in Annex 2.2A. From these distribution centers, meters are shipped to one of nine customer areas. Flight. The Worth center serves Dallas, San Antonio, Wichita and Kansas City, the Santa Fe center serves Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, and the Las Vegas center ships to Los Angeles and San Diego. The purpose of this report is to compare the current distribution. system to a distribution system without the aforementioned limitations on distribution centers permitted to serve a specific area. To determine which system would be best, Darby Company gathered additional information on shipping costs to other regions. For example, the Ft. Worth Center could also serve Denver, in addition to its current areas, Santa Fe could ship to any customer and Las Vegas could ship to Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, as well as Los Angeles and San Diego. Exhibit 2.2B details specific shipping costs from distribution centers to customers. Darby Company also plans to supply directly to a number of customers. From the San Bernardino plant, they would ship directly to Los Angeles and San Diego, and from the El Paso plant, they would supply directly to San Antonio (exact costs in Exhibit 2.2C). To determine what will be the most cost-effective way to distribute the meters, I will use network mapping and linear programming to minimize costs.II. Model DescriptionIn order to minimize the total shipping costs in the Darby distribution system, linear programming can be used.