Microsoft Excel 2013: Data Analysis and Business Modeling

Chapter 37. The traveling salesperson problem

Questions answered in this chapter:

• How can I use Excel to solve sequencing problems?

• How can I use Excel to solve a traveling salesperson problem (TSP)?

Answers to this chapter’s questions

This section provides the answers to the questions that are listed at the beginning of the chapter.

How can I use Excel to solve sequencing problems?

Many business problems involve the choice of an optimal sequence. Here are two examples:

• In what order should a print shop work on 10 jobs to minimize the total time by which jobs fail to meet their due dates? Problems of this type are called job shop scheduling problems.

• A salesperson lives in Boston and wants to visit 10 other cities before returning home. In which order ...