Solutions · Selection
Choose the right combination, with every tradeoff visible.
Compare suppliers, projects, sites, orders or investments against budgets, capacities, minimum requirements and strategic priorities.
30 of P and 10 of Q: $1,600.
A 100-hour week: $1,600 a week
The products
| Product | Earns | Hours | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | $30 | 2 | 1 kg |
| Q | $70 | 4 | 3 kg |
This week
- Machine hours
- 100
- Material
- 60 kg
Q earns more than twice what P earns. That is the reason the answer below is worth checking rather than guessing.
Every mix compared
| P | Q | Uses | Earns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0h · 0kg | $0 |
| 50 | 0 | 100h · 50kg | $1,500 |
| 30 | 10 | 100h · 60kg | $1,600 — recommended best |
| 0 | 20 | 80h · 60kg | $1,400 |
Making only the higher earner, Q: 20 of Q, $1,400 — $200 less than the recommendation.
Both limits are used to the last hour and the last kilogram, which is what makes this the best mix rather than merely a good one.
Checks
- Passed: Machine hours within the 100-hour week
- Passed: Material within the 60 kg on hand
- Passed: Every corner of the feasible mix compared
What this brief supplied
- Products
- Two: P and Q
- Machine time
- P takes 2 hours, Q takes 4
- Material
- P takes 1 kg, Q takes 3
- Margin
- P earns 30, Q earns 70
- On hand
- 60 kg of material
- Demand
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. The brief does not say how many of either product can actually be sold. A demand ceiling would cap the mix regardless of what the limits allow.
- Setup and changeover time
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. Machine hours here are pure run time. Real changeovers between products would make a split mix cost more than the sum of its parts.
- Minimum batch size
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. No minimum run was given, so fractional-looking answers are not ruled out and none is assumed for you.
- What unsold units cost
- Not stated — not stated in this brief. Margin is treated as earned on production. Holding or scrapping unsold stock would change which mix is best.
What you can decide
Choosing, placing, ordering
Supplier and vendor picks
Shortlists under budget, quality, and coverage limits — with the losing options and their gaps listed.
Sites and facilities
Where to open, close, or place capacity so demand is met at the lowest all-in cost.
Allocation under limits
Budgets, crews, or shelf space spread across competing uses that each want more.
Order and priority
When sequence matters, the order comes with the reason each item earned its slot.
Fit more into the same limits
Pieces drop into a hairline container until the space is used well — the picture behind every packing, budgeting, and shortlist decision.
How it runs
From long list to short list
State the limits
Budget ceilings, must-haves, and can't-happens, in your own words.
Compare the field
The recommendation arrives beside the alternatives it beat, with the margin between them.
Ask what-if
Loosen a limit, re-solve, and watch which choices flip — before you commit.
More solutions