Binary integer non-linear programming excel solver premium
 

Howdy,

I am working a homework problem involving non-linear programming for
an operations research class. The problem is in three parts. The
objective is to minimize the total distance traveled between a
facility and thirty different towns each year by optimally locating
the facility amongst the towns. There are a fixed number of trips
between each facility and each town each year. The second and third
parts of the problem require locating two and three facilities. I
believe I’ve got the first part correct. Excel’s solver give a
consistent and reasonable answer. Of course, two and three facilities
seems to produce local minima. I’ve downloaded and I’m trying to use
Frontline systems Premium solver add-in. Other than randomly sorting
through different starting points, how do I configure the premium
solver to identify the global maximum for each case? Thanks for any
advice or help.

-g