Reports: An Example Model

The example Solver model below will be used to illustrate the Solver reports. If your Web browser supports multiple views, you may want to display this page in one view, and each of the report pages in turn in another view.

In this Product Mix optimization model, we are assembling three finished products (TV sets, stereos and speakers) from five different kinds of parts. Each finished product earns a different profit margin, as shown in row 17. We have a limited inventory of parts on hand, shown in column B, and we want to determine the number of finished products of each type to assemble that will yield the greatest total profit.

The primary constraint in this problem is C11:C15 <= B11:B15, i.e. the number of parts used of each type cannot exceed the supply of parts on hand. (The only other constraint is D9:F9 >= 0, i.e. we cannot assemble a negative number of finished products.) Among other things, the Answer report will show us how many parts of each type are left over (if any) -- the slack in that constraint. The Sensitivity report will show us how much our maximum profit would increase if we could obtain more of each type of part.

Copyright © 1996 Frontline Systems Inc.
Last modified: December 01, 1996