Map Location Policy

Define the permitted footprint and fixed operating costs for one planning period. Each row references a location already present in the scenario. Wire this node into Create Scenario alongside Map Locations, then run Network Optimization.

What you need

One row per site, its mode, and an explicit nonnegative fixed operating cost. Use the scenario currency and the same planning period as demand and variable costs. Zero means free; a blank cost is rejected by the optimizer.

Field mapping

Auto-detection is all or nothing. With no explicit mapping on the node, every field is matched against the headers listed below, case-insensitively, and a space in your header reads as an underscore, so Site Name matches site_name. Set even one field explicitly and detection switches off for the whole node: only the fields named in the mapping are filled, and the rest arrive empty.

Set mappings in the node's panel. Connect an upstream table and select the mapping node to see automatic matches. Choosing a column saves all displayed matches as an explicit mapping. Use Use automatic detection to return to header detection. Required fields without a match are marked in the panel.

Field	Type	Required	Example	What it is	Auto-detected headers
Location	text	Yes	Warehouse A	Site identifier, matching a location in this scenario.	location, location_id
Mode	text	Yes	consider	include forces open, consider lets the optimizer decide, exclude forces closed.	mode, location_mode
Fixed Operating Cost	number	Yes	100000.0	Nonnegative fixed operating cost for the scenario planning period in its currency. Paid once when open, even with zero activity. Enter zero explicitly for a free site.	fixed_operating_cost, fixed_cost

How it works

Mode	Site status	Fixed operating cost
include	Must remain open, even if unused	Paid once
consider	Optimizer chooses open or closed	Paid once when open
exclude	Closed; no transport, sourcing, fulfillment or production	Zero

An open site need not carry volume. Minimum throughput is a separate business constraint. One opening decision covers every product and activity at the site. A location without a policy keeps its availability and has no modeled fixed charge. Excluding a demand location does not delete its demand: full service may become infeasible; with partial service allowed the demand remains unserved.

Use avoidable operating costs. One-time investment, closure costs and changes between periods are outside this model. Per-unit fees belong on Map Handling Policy. The optimizer writes one location-state row per location-policy row, with the decision and incurred cost. Sites without a policy have no modeled site decision. Site fixed costs are reported separately and are not allocated by Cost to Serve.

For optional sites the optimizer derives activation bounds from the network's capacities and constraints. If activity is unbounded, add physical capacities on lanes, supply, production or throughput; the run names the site it cannot bound.

flowchart LR
    raw["Import Data"] --> mapping["Map Location Policy"]
    mapping --> scenario["Create Scenario"]
    places["Map Locations"] --> scenario