Open AccessA TOOL TO VISUALLY EXPLAIN THE ZONES OF INFLUENCE OF SEVERAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS IN A NETWORK
Author(s) -
Carlos Maligo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
brazilian journal of operations and production management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2237-8960
pISSN - 1679-8171
DOI - 10.14488/bjopm.2016.v13.n3.a5
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , construct (python library) , work (physics) , computer science , distribution (mathematics) , resource (disambiguation) , data science , subject (documents) , human–computer interaction , marketing , engineering , world wide web , business , artificial intelligence , mathematics , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , computer network , programming language
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.