It's a simple request that reveals a deeper problem: searching across multiple columns in a spreadsheet should not require a PhD in formula syntax. The user wants to type a batch number into a cell and have the corresponding gallon amount returned from any of several paired columns. That's a reasonable workflow, and the fact that it demands a non-obvious combination of INDEX, MATCH, and array logic tells you everything about how far traditional spreadsheets have fallen behind the way people actually work.
The challenge here is structural. Data lives in columns A, C, E, and G, with the results in B, D, F, and H. A standard VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP can only scan a single column. To search across four separate columns, you would need to nest multiple IFERROR statements or build a helper column that consolidates the search terms. Neither approach is intuitive. Both punish the user for organizing data in a way that makes sense to them, grouping related pairs side by side rather than stacking everything into one long, unreadable table. The user is not doing anything wrong. The tool is failing to adapt.
What this person really needs is a search that understands context: look for this value anywhere in the workbook, and return the adjacent cell. That is a natural human question, not an exotic one. In an AI-native spreadsheet, you would simply describe what you want, "find 23-11-01 and give me the gallon amount next to it", and the system would handle the column scanning, the pair matching, and the result retrieval. No formula construction, no debugging, no Stack Overflow tabs left open. The technology exists to make data retrieval as simple as asking a question. It is time for spreadsheets to catch up to that expectation.
So here is the practical takeaway: if you are spending more than a few minutes trying to figure out how to search across your own data, the tool is the bottleneck. The problem is not your understanding of spreadsheets. It is that spreadsheets still make you think like a programmer when you should be thinking like a person who just needs an answer. The next generation of spreadsheet tools will treat that gap as unacceptable. For now, the best you can do is recognize that your frustration is legitimate, and that the solution is not a more complicated formula, but a smarter platform.