Premier Consulting’s two consultants, Avery and Baker, can be scheduled to work for clients up to a maximum of 160 hours each over the next four weeks. A third consultant, Campbell, has some administrative assignments already planned and is available for clients up to a maximum of 140 hours over the next four weeks. The company has four clients with projects in process. The estimated hourly requirements for each of the clients over the four-week period are as follows: Client Hours
A1 180
B2 75
C3 100
D4 85
Hourly rates vary for the consultant–client combination and are based on several factors, including project type and the consultant’s experience. The rates (dollars per hour) for each consultant–client combination are as follows:
Client
Consultant A B C D
Avery1 100 125 115 100
Baker2 120 135 115 120
Campbell3 155 150 140 130
a. Develop a network representation of the problem.
b. Formulate the problem as a linear program, with the optimal solution providing the hours each consultant should be scheduled for each client to maximize the consulting firm’s billings. What is the schedule and what is the total billing?
c. New information shows that Avery doesn’t have the experience to be scheduled for client B. If this consulting assignment is not permitted, what impact does it have on total billings? What is the revised schedule?