An exact algorithm for the capacitated vertex p-center problem

We develop a simple and practical exact algorithm for the problem of locating p facilities and assigning clients to them within capacity restrictions in order to minimize the maximum distance between a client and the facility to which it is assigned (capacitated p-center). The algorithm iteratively sets a maximum distance value within which it tries to assign all clients, and thus solves bin-packing or capacitated concentrator location subproblems using off-the-shelf optimization software. Computational experiments yield promising results. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.