Neco 2018 Commerce Question 45

A rectangular warehouse measures 80 m by 60 m. A central aisle 4 m wide runs lengthwise (parallel to the 80 m side), dividing the floor into two storage blocks. Within each block, perpendicular aisles 4 m wide are placed every 8 m along the length, creating storage bays of 8 m (length) × 20 m (width). Each pallet occupies a footprint of 2 m × 1.5 m and may be stacked up to 3 high. The handling cost per pallet is \(\text{₦}150\) each time it is moved from its storage bay to the loading dock located at one short side (the 60 m side). The distance a pallet must be moved is approximated by the Manhattan distance from the centre of its bay to the dock, traveling only along aisles.\n\n(a) What is the total number of pallets that can be stored in the warehouse?\n\n(b) Assuming pallets are uniformly distributed across all bays, what is the average handling distance per pallet (in metres)?\n\n(c) What is the total daily handling cost if each pallet is moved once per day?