3 Questions
What is the objective function of the company?
Maximize profit
What is the key benefit of following a systematic approach to model formulation?
It helps to identify a specific model component at each step
What is the purpose of the formulas for leftover resources in the Excel spreadsheet solution?
To demonstrate a spreadsheet operation that can save time
Study Notes
Linear Programming: Modeling Examples
- This chapter presents more complex model formulation examples, illustrating popular application areas of linear programming and providing guidelines for model formulation and computer solutions.
A Product Mix Example: Quick-Screen
- Quick-Screen is a clothing manufacturing company that produces commemorative shirts for sporting events.
- The company has 72 hours to complete production after the game, with a budget of $25,000 and sufficient blank sweatshirts and T-shirts in stock.
- The company wants to maximize profit by determining the optimal number of dozens of each type of shirt to produce.
Decision Variables
- Four decision variables represent the number of dozens of each type of shirt to produce:
- x1: sweatshirts, front printing
- x2: sweatshirts, back and front printing
- x3: T-shirts, front printing
- x4: T-shirts, back and front printing
The Objective Function
- The objective is to maximize profit, with the total profit being the sum of individual profits from each type of shirt:
- maximize Z = $90x1 + 125x2 + 45x3 + 65x4
Model Constraints
- Four constraints:
- Processing time: total available processing time is 72 hours
- Shipping capacity: available shipping capacity is 1,200 standard-size boxes
- Cost budget: total budget available for production is $25,000
- Availability of blank shirts: limited to 500 dozen sweatshirts and 500 dozen T-shirts
Model Summary
- The linear programming model for Quick-Screen is summarized as:
- maximize Z = 90x1 + 125x2 + 45x3 + 65x4
- subject to four constraints: processing time, shipping capacity, cost budget, and availability of blank shirts
- x1, x2, x3, x4 ≥ 0
Computer Solution with Excel
- The Excel spreadsheet solution for this product mix example is shown in Exhibit 4.1.
- Decision variables are located in cells B14:B17.
- Profit is computed in cell B18.
- Constraint formulas are embedded in cells H7 through H11.
- Formulas for leftover resources are in cells K7 through K11.
This chapter presents complex examples of model formulation in linear programming, illustrating popular application areas and providing guidelines for problem-solving with Excel and QM for Windows.
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