Excel Formula for Inventory

Question

I\'m new to the excel formula, so I don\'t know all the functions. I\'m trying to create a formula using Vlookup or something akin to it for my inventory excel sheet.

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Answer 1

For future reference, looking up values can be done in several ways (e.g.: VLOOKUPand HLOOKUP), however a very powerful combination can be made using INDEX and MATCH, being at least as fast as other functions and at best much faster.

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INDEX

The INDEX function function returns a value or the reference to a value from within a table or range and has got the following parameters:

• An array of cells (matrix) which is required
• An index number of the row we want to return a value from which is required
• An index number of the column we want to return a value from which is optional

So the syntax would look like: =INDEX(RangeOfCells,RowIndex,[ColumnIndex])

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MATCH

The MATCH function searches for a specified item in a range of cells, and then returns the relative position of that item in the range. It has got the following parameters:

• A lookup value which is required
• A lookup array of cells (matrix) which is required
• A match type (-1,0,1) which is optional (automatically type 1 if omitted)

So the syntax would look like: =MATCH(LookupValue,LookupArray,[MatchType])

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INDEX + MATCH

Let's imagine a simple dataset in Sheet1 like the following:

| Header1 | Header2 | Header3 | Header4 |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| ID1     | A       | Val1    | Month1  |
| ID2     | B       | Val2    | Month2  |
| ID3     | C       | Val3    | Month3  |
| ID4     | D       | Val4    | Month4  |
| ID5     | E       | Val5    | Month5  |

And the following setup to search for a value in Sheet2:

| Header1 | Header2 | Header3 | Header4 |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| ID3     |         |         |         |

Now if you are interested in the value of Header2 up to Header4 by looking up a specific value under Header1 you can apply the following technique in B2 and drag right.

=INDEX(Sheet1!$B:$D,MATCH($A2,Sheet1!$A:$A,0),COLUMN(A1))

The result will look like:

| Header1 | Header2 | Header3 | Header4 |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| ID3     | C       | Val3    | Month3  |

If you take into consideration the above about INDEX and MATCH you can see that I gave INDEX it's required array of cells (1st parameter), used MATCH to return a row index number (2nd parameter) and have utilized the COLUMN function along with a relative cell reference to return the column index number (3rd parameter).

The MATCH function has been given a lookup value (1st parameter), a lookup array (2nd parameter) and I have used match type 0, which tells the function to look for an exact match.

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VLOOKUP

In this specific case it would have been possible to utilize the VLOOKUP function. But I'll try to set out why I would prefer the INDEX + MATCH combination:

• VLOOKUP gives you little flexibility as the lookup value must sit in the left-most column of your lookup matrix, whereas INDEX gives you the option to return any column through the third parameter.
• As previously mentioned, while VLOOKUP is the more popular option, INDEX + MATCH is the faster option. If you go for speed, then use this!

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Further notes:

While this was just a simple breakdown of how you could use the combination of INDEX + MATCH, there are a few more things to consider:

• In the example above I used absolute, semi-absolute and relative cell references (note the differences with the $ sign). Utilize this technique to be able to drag a formula to the right, left, bottom or top.
• Set up a table instead of a matrix. You can refer to columns within that table instead of full columns. Searching only a few rows compared to all possible rows in a column is always (AFAIK) faster!
• When you get more advanced you'll notice INDEX and MATCH is something that will appear as a lifesafer much more often in many ways :)
• While looking for an exact match, MATCH might return an error when the lookup value simply isn't found. This is something to consider when you see any #N/A error. A workaround is a ISNA or IFERROR function within the formula.

I hope that gets you started! Check the links I included for some more in-depth information.