This model calculates the Product or Service Mix that maximizes overall profit considering available resources. It will identify the mix (number) of each Production Item to produce and any remaining resource. Up to six unique Production Items can be handled with ten specific resource inputs. Production Items can be considered as the output of any process including manufactured items and the provision of services.

Resources are anything that is needed to produce or provide the Production Item. This may include materials, labor, machine time, floor space, transportation services etc. The model applies Linear Programming to identify the optimum result. It considers the resource demand, profit contribution and any minimum or maximum production requirements for each Production Item.

By using the Solver Add-in included with Microsoft Excel the optimum solution is identified and can then be manually adjusted to test alternative scenarios. Operation is fully automated with tabular inputs and outputs. No knowledge of Linear Programming or Excel is required for use.