The AppleBerry Company makes a mix of three types of electronic devices: MP3 players, eReaders, and tablet computers. The company is trying to determine which products to make to optimize its profits. Each product requires a specific number of hours in fabrication, assembly, and machining. In addition, to save on expenses, all the devices have been engineered to use the same basic raw materials. The table below details the hours and costs involved, as well as the profit per device. AppleBerry has a total of 2000 hours of fabrication, 3200 hours of assembly, and 1600 hours of machining currently available per month. It also has budgeted to purchase $9200 of raw materials each month.
|
Device
|
Fabrication Hours Required
|
Assembly Hours Required
|
Machining Hours Required
|
$ of raw Materials Needed
|
Profit per Device
|
|
MP3 Player
|
6
|
6
|
9
|
$30
|
$16
|
|
eReader
|
6
|
8
|
6
|
$40
|
$20
|
|
Tablet
|
2
|
12
|
8
|
$25
|
$14
|
Answer the following questions:
1. Given the current situation, what product mix should AppleBerry use to maximize its monthly profits? What is the optimized monthly profit? Set this up as a spreadsheet using Solver.
2. If AppleBerry chooses to commit more resources to increase profits, should it purchase more fabrication time, assembly time, machining time, or raw materials?