This is difficult to search for so i tried searching and found nothing directly to help me answer this question. It seems as though it should be a pretty easy solution and straight forward. But I can't figure it out.

This is a manufacturing problem. We have many different lengths and quantities of a certain profile. I have requirements for two jobs coming up. Now i need to minimize scrap so as to utilize the stock and come up with my required parts. How do i accomplish this with excel? I know i can sit and try to figure it out like i have in the past, but this is not efficient. Especially since I know there must be a way with Excel (either solver or another add-on) to solve this problem.

For example I have in stock:

3pcs @ 351"
1pcs @ 257"
3pcs @ 255"
4pcs @ 245"
6pcs @ 240"
13pcs @ 235"
2pcs @ 234"
3pcs @ 206"
19pcs @ 195"
1pcs @ 185"
4pcs @ 175"
2pcs @ 154"
3pcs @ 149"
1pcs @ 139"
6pcs @ 138"
1pcs @ 107"
3pcs @ 100"
2pcs @ 96"


I need:

14pcs @ 91"
14pcs @ 98"
14pcs @ 102"
12pcs @ 109"
2pcs @ 145"
14pcs @ 193"
12pcs @ 204"
12pcs @ 205"
14pcs @ 216"

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cihan