Prepare an aggregate plan for the coming year, assuming that the sales forecast is perfect. Use the spreadsheet “Bradford Manufacturing” from this book’s DVD. In the spreadsheet an area has been designated for your aggregate plan solution. Supply the number of packaging lines to run and the number of overtime hours for each quarter. You will need to set up the cost calculations in the spreadsheet.

You may want to try using the Excel Solver to find a solution. You will need to “unprotect” the spreadsheet to run the Solver (Tools > Protection > Unprotect). You will also need to set the “not-negativity”

box in the “options” area. Remember that your final solution needs an integer number of lines and an integer number of overtime hours for each quarter. (Solutions that require 8.9134 lines and 1.256 hours of overtime are not feasible.)