Greenfield Analysis options

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Greenfield Analysis options

These settings are used to control the Greenfield Analysis algorithm.

Greenfield Solving Method

These options include the Site Selection Criteria, as well as the following options:

Exclude All Existing Sites: Enabling this option runs a Greenfield Analysis without the influence of existing sites. Customer locations and demand are the only factors considered. When this option is selected, Greenfield Analysis effectively excludes Sites from the Greenfield Analysis. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Exclude All Existing Facilities” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Yes".

Customer Cluster Radius: In the case that you have a large number of customers, you can improve the performance of Greenfield Analysis by having it create customers clusters. These clusters group customers that are within the clustering distance of the initial clusters. See Customer clusters for additional information about clustering. When this option is used with Last Mile Service Constraints, there may be occasional breaching of the service inputs with certain cases. Enter the value based on your default distance unit of measure (as defined in Model Settings > Default Units and Currency). To set this option in a scenario, select the “Use Greenfield Clustering Distance” field and set the value to "Yes", then select the “Customer Clustering Radius” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to the clustering radius you want to use.

In the case that a customer clustering radius is input to handle a larger model (1000+ customers), it is possible that the service constraints could be breached.

Site Selection Criteria

Number of Greenfield Sites: Enter the number of greenfield sites to be calculated. This value must be 1 or higher.

This option can be used in conjunction with Last Mile Service Constraints. It is possible that a Greenfield Analysis may be infeasible if the Last Mile Service Constraints are set too tight, since they generally act as hard constraints. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Site Selection Criteria” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Number of Greenfield Sites", then in a second scenario item, select the “Number of Greenfield Facilities” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to the number of greenfield sites you want to use.

Minimize Total Sites for Service Constraints: This selection will generate the minimum set of greenfield sites required to meet the Last MileService Constraints. When this option is selected, Greenfield Analysis checks the Last Mile Service Constraints table to see if records are present. If there are no records, a message is displayed warning you that there are no service constraints. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Site Selection Criteria” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Minimize Total Sites for Service Constraints".

Greenfield Service Constraint Basis

Select one of the following as the basis for Last Mile Service Constraints during Greenfield Analysis:

% Demand Served: When this option is selected, the Last Mile Service Constraints are applied to the percentage of demand served out of the total demand. This option is the default setting. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Service Constraint Basis” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Demand Served".
% Customers Served: When this option is selected, the Last Mile Service Constraints are applied to the percentage of customers served our of the total number of customers. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Service Constraint Basis” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Customers Served".

Greenfield Constraints

Max Sourcing Distance: This option sets a hard constraint on the furthest distance that a customer can be served from when sourcing from sites co-located at existing customer locations. Additionally, it can dramatically speed up the Greenfield Analysis solve. Its use is recommended in most cases when Last Mile Service Constraints are not used. Note: If this number is too small, the greenfield calculation could be infeasible. Select the "Use Max Sourcing Distance" checkbox and enter the value based on your default distance unit of measure (as defined in Model Settings > Default Units and Currency).

You can set up the same behavior using the Last Mile Service Constraints table. Enter the Distance value and set the Percentage to 100. This will be treated the same as using the Max Sourcing Distance option.

To set this option in a scenario, select the “Use Max Sourcing Distance” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to True, then select the “Max Sourcing Distance” field and enter the distance value you want to use.

Site Location Options

Select the method by which you want the greenfield sites to be located:

Greenfield Latitude/Longitude: This option selects the optimal latitude/longitude centroid for a given set of demand points. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Site Location Options” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Greenfield Latitude / Longitude".
Closest City to Greenfield Latitude/Longitude: This option selects the closest city to the greenfield latitude/longitude centroid for a given set of demand points using the Geodata.db database. To set this option in a scenario, select the “Site Location Options” Network Optimization Options field and set the value to "Closest City to Greenfield Latitude / Longitude".

When you select the "Closest City to Greenfield Latitude/Longitude" option, it is possible that Last Mile Service Constraints and/or the "Max Sourcing Distance" can be slightly violated. Only "Greenfield Latitude/Longitude" is considered during Greenfield Analysis to respect the service constraints and/or the "Max Sourcing Distance". "Closest City to Greenfield Latitude/Longitude" is determined during post-processing of the Greenfield Analysis output.

Custom Constraints for Greenfield Analysis

You can apply a custom constraint file when using Greenfield Analysis. Use the Greenfield Optimization — option on the Greenfield Analysis tab in Network Optimization options. This option enables you to select an existing custom constraint for use in Greenfield Analysis.

Last modified: Friday May 12, 2023

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