The amount of storage used equals the sumproduct of the range C8:E8 and OrderSize. Insert the following three SUMPRODUCT functions.Įxplanation: The amount of capital used equals the sumproduct of the range C7:E7 and OrderSize. To make the model easier to understand, create the following named ranges. What is the overall measure of performance for these decisions? The overall measure of performance is the total profit of the three products, so the objective is to maximize this quantity.Ģ. For example, each bicycle uses 300 units of capital and 0.5 unit of storage.Ĭ. What are the constraints on these decisions? The constrains here are that the amount of capital and storage used by the products cannot exceed the limited amount of capital and storage (resources) available. What are the decisions to be made? For this problem, we need Excel to find out how much to order of each product (bicycles, mopeds and child seats).ī. To formulate this linear programming model, answer the following three questions.Ī.

The model we are going to solve looks as follows in Excel.ġ. You can find the Solver on the Data tab, in the Analyze group.

Under Add-ins, select Solver Add-in and click on the Go button.Ĥ. The basic test functions applied worked well and the application ran smoothly within Excel.įor those who need additional operations in Excel, Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac adds more functionality to Microsoft's program and integrates well.2. Once this information is entered, the user can then select from several solving methods, which are clearly explained in a separate text box. Max, Min, and Value of functions are clearly labeled, as is the entry box for constraints. The user can manually type in the cells to which it will apply, or they can be clicked from the main area. Once the program button is selected in Excel, the add-on's interface matches Microsoft's well. Technical support and user tutorial videos are available through the developer's Web sites. It then imports and installs a button in Excel's Data tab.

After opening Excel, the user must go to the add-in area and select the Solver program. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac downloads and installs directly onto the Excel program without any problems or user input required. The program is available for free and is actually included in later versions of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program for Mac. Solver for Excel 2011 for Mac integrates well into the existing Excel program and performs additional operations on spreadsheet data.

Mac users with Excel may want add-on applications for more functionality.

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