So what I'm wanting to do is set up a spreadsheet to check and see if the batch sizes being produced are correct and within spec. I've got 3 products, lets call them ABC, LMN, XYZ. The batches can come in different sizes but are to be >=11 or <=9. What can happen is I learn that the products are broken down as 3ABC-4LMN-3XYZ, 4ABC-4LMN-3XYZ, so on and so forth. The combinations change everyday and can vary in how many. I want to see how many different variations there are in a given data set. The products are always presented in the order stated (ABC-LMN-XYZ). What I was thinking is using a sumif or countif to check one variation then when it reaches ABC again to compare and see if it the same or is a different variation. Another potential problem is the introduction of a new model with another one disappearing too and not sure how to handle it. Example: Week 1: ABC-LMN-XYZ Week 2: ABC-LMN-QRS-XYZ Week 3: ABC-QRS-XYZ.

I'm not 100% sure Excel is the best route for this to go. Access has been brought up but I think in can be done in Excel either via Macros/VBA or just straight formulas.

Hopefully that makes sense and thank you in advance for any advice.