Facilities are located such that the sum of all weighted costs between demand points and solution facilities is minimized. The arrows in the graphic below highlight the fact that allocation is based on distance among all demand points.
Minimize Impedance chooses facilities such that the sum of weighted impedances (demand allocated to a facility multiplied by the impedance to the facility) is minimized.
This problem type is traditionally used to locate warehouses, because it can reduce the overall transportation costs of delivering goods to outlets. Since Minimize Impedance reduces the overall distance the public needs to travel to reach the chosen facilities, the minimize impedance problem without an impedance cutoff is ordinarily regarded as more equitable than other problem types for locating some public-sector facilities such as libraries, regional airports, museums, department of motor vehicles offices, and health clinics.
The following list describes how the minimize impedance problem type handles demand:
• If an impedance cutoff is set, any demand outside all the facilities' impedance cutoffs is not allocated.
• A demand point inside the impedance cutoff of one facility has all its demand weight allocated to that facility.
• A demand point inside the impedance cutoff of two or more facilities has all its demand weight allocated to the nearest facility only.