A simplified new approach for solving fuzzy transportation problems with generalized trapezoidal fuzzy numbers

• A new method is proposed for solving fuzzy transportation problem (FTP).
• It is demonstrated that once the ranking function is chosen, the FTP is converted into crisp one.
• The proposed approach is based on classical transportation approaches.
• The main contribution is the reduction of the computational complexity of the existing method.
• By solving two examples, it concluded that it is possible to find a same optimal solution without solving any FTP.

In a recent paper, Kaur and Kumar (2012) proposed a new method based on ranking function for solving fuzzy transportation problem (FTP) by assuming that the values of transportation costs are represented by generalized trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Here it is shown that once the ranking function is chosen, the FTP is converted into crisp one, which is easily solved by the standard transportation algorithms. The main contribution here is the reduction of the computational complexity of the existing method. By solving two application examples, it is shown that it is possible to find a same optimal solution without solving any FTP. Since the proposed approach is based on classical approach it is very easy to understand and to apply on real life transportation problems for the decision makers.

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