The Mr. Meadows Cookie Company can obtain accurate forecasts for 12 months based on firm orders. These forecasts and the number of workdays per month are as follows:

Demand Forecast Month (in thousands of cookies) Workdays 1 850 26 2 1,260 24 3 510 20 4 980 18 5 770 22 6 850 23 7 1,050 14 8 1,550 21 9 1,350 23 10 1,000 24 11 970 21 12 680 13 During a 46-day period when there were 120 workers, the firm produced 1,700,000 cookies. Assume that there are 100 workers employed at the beginning of month 1 and zero starting inventory.

a. Find the minimum constant workforce needed to meet monthly demand.

b. Assume cI 5 $0.10 per cookie per month, cH 5 $100, and cF 5 $200. Add columns that give the cumulative on-hand inventory and inventory cost. What is the total cost of the constant workforce plan?

c. Solve for the optimal plan using linear programming. Compare your solution to b.