Dr.T.A.S.

Vijayaraghavan, XLRI, Jamshedpur

Inventory Policy Decisions-Part-I

Inventories are stockpiles of raw materials, supplies, components, work in

process and finished goods that appear at numerous points throughout a firm's
production and logistics channel or supply chain.
Inventories are often found in warehouses, yards, shop floors, transportation
equipment and on retail store shelves. Having inventory on hand can cost
between 20 and 40 per cent of their value per year.

REASONS FOR INVENTORIES

Improve Customer Service
Operating systems usually cannot be designed to economically respond to
customer's requests for products or services in an instantaneous manner.
Inventories provide a level of product or service availability, which, when located
in the proximity of the customer, can meet a high customer service requirement.
The presence of these inventories to the customer may not only maintain sales,
but also actually increase them.
Auto repair shops are faced with maintaining thousands of parts to repair a
variety of automobiles from different model years. An automobile can contain
15,000 parts. To provide the fastest turnaround, repair shops carry a limited
inventory of the more popular parts such as spark plugs, fan belts, and batteries.
A second tier of inventories is maintained by the auto manufacturer in regional
warehouses from which parts can be transported by airfreight, so that the repair
shops can, in some cases, receive them the same day. A high level of parts
availability can be achieved with a minimum of on-site inventory.

Reduce Costs
Although holding inventories has a cost associated with it, it can indirectly reduce
operating costs in other activities and may more than offset the carrying cost.
First, holding inventories may encourage economies of production by allowing
larger, longer and more level production runs. Production output can be
decoupled from the variation in demand requirements when inventories exist to
act as buffers between the two.

The material in this handout is extracted from Chapter IV, Business Logistics Management by
Ronald H..Ballou, Prentice-Hall International Inc. Fourth Edition,

Second, holding inventories fosters economies in purchasing and transportation.

A purchasing department may buy in quantities beyond the firm's immediate
needs in order to realize price-quantity discounts. The cost of holding the excess
quantities until they are needed is balanced with the price reduction that can be
achieved. In a similar manner, transportation costs can often be reduced by
shipping in larger quantities that require less handling per unit. However,
increasing the shipment size results in increased inventory levels that need to be
maintained at both ends of the transportation channel. The reduction in
transportation costs justifies the carrying of an inventory.
Third, forward buying involves the purchasing of additional quantities of products
the logistics at a lower current price rather than at higher anticipated future
prices. Buying in quantities greater than immediate needs results in a larger
inventory than does purchasing in quantities that more closely match immediate
requirements. However, if prices are expected to rise in the future, some
inventory resulting from forward buying can be justified.
Fourth, variability in the time that it takes to produce and transport goods
throughout the operating channel can cause uncertainties that impact on
operating costs as well as customer service levels. Inventories are frequently
used at many points in the channel to buffer the effects of this variability and,
thereby, help to smooth operations.
Fifth, unplanned and unanticipated shocks can befall the logistics system. Labour
strikes, natural disasters, surges in demand, and delays in supplies are the types
of contingencies against which inventories can afford some protection. Having
some inventory at key points throughout the logistics channel allows the system
to operate for a period of time while the effect of the shock can be diminished.
Paper making requires expensive Fourdrinier machines and other pieces of
equipment that have large capacities. The high fixed cost of this equipment
dictates that it constantly be kept busy. Demand for industrial paper products
(kraft wrapping papers, multiwall bags, and bulk products) is anything but stable
and known for sure. Although large orders can be scheduled directly to the
process. Production of small orders would be too costly considering that
changeovers can take 30 minutes on machines costing #3,500 per hour to
operate. Producing to an inventory and servicing the small-order demand for the
more standardized products from that inventory reduces setup time, which more
than compensates for the inventory carrying cost.

Reasons against Inventories

It has been claimed that management's job is much easier having the security of
inventories. Criticism for being overstocked is much more defensible than being
short of supplies. The major portion of inventory carrying costs is of an

opportunity cost nature and, therefore, goes unidentified in normal accounting

reports. To the extent that inventory levels have been too high for the
reasonable support of operations, the criticism is perhaps deserved.
Critics have challenged the holding of inventories along several lines. First,
inventories are considered wasteful. They absorb capital that might otherwise be
put to better use, such as to improve productivity or competitiveness. Also, they
do not contribute any direct value to the products of the firm, although they do
store value.
Second, they can mask quality problems. When quality problems surface, the
tendency is to work off existing inventories to protect the capital investment.
Correcting quality problems can be slow.
Finally, using inventories promotes an insular attitude about the management of
the logistics channel as a whole. With inventories, it is often possible to isolate
one stage of the channel from another. The opportunities arising from integrated
decision making that considers the entire channel are not encouraged. Without
inventories, it is difficult to avoid planning and co-ordinating across several
echelons of the channel at one time.

TYPES OF INVENTORIES
Inventories can be categorized in five distinct forms. First, inventories may be in
the pipeline. These are inventories that are in transit between stocking or
production points because movement is not instantaneous. Where movement is
slow and/or movement is over long distances and/or movement must take place
between many stages, the amount of inventory in the pipeline may well exceed
that held at the stocking points.
Second, some stocks may be held for speculation, but they are still part of the
total inventory base that must be managed. Raw materials such as copper, gold,
and silver are purchased as much for price speculation as they are to meet
operating requirements. Where price speculation takes place for time periods
beyond the foreseeable needs of operations, such resulting inventories are
probably more the concern of financial management than logistics management.
However, when inventories are built up in anticipation of seasonal selling or
occur due to forward buying activities, these inventories are likely to be the
responsibility of logistics.
Third, stocks may be regular or cyclical in nature. These are the inventories
necessary to meet the average demand during the time between successive
replenishments. The amount of cycle stock is highly dependent on production lot

sizes, economical shipment quantities, storage space limitations, replenishment

lead times, price-quantity discount schedules, and inventory carrying costs.
Fourth, inventory may be created as a hedge against the variability in demand
for the inventory and in replenishment lead time. This extra measure of
inventory, or safety stock, is in addition to the regular stock that is needed to
meet average demand and average lead-time conditions. Safety stock is
determined by statistical procedures that deal with the random nature of the
variabilities involved. The amount of safety stock maintained depends on the
extent of the variability involved and the level of stock availability that is
provided. Accurate forecasting is essential to minimizing safety stock levels. In
fact, if lead time and demand could be predicted with 100 percent accuracy, no
safety stock would be needed.
Finally, some of the inventory deteriorates, becomes out of date, or is lost or
stolen when held for a period of time. Such inventory is referred to as obsolete,
dead, or. shrinkage stock. Where the products are of high value, perishable, or
easily stolen, special precautions must be taken to minimize the amount of such
stock.

CLASSIFYING INVENTORY MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

Managing inventories presents a variety of management problem types. Since
they cannot be approached by a single solution method, we need to categorize
them into several major groups. With inventory management methods, we
assume that the conditions of demand level and its variability, lead time and its
variability, and costs are known and that we must do the best job of inventory
management given these conditions. In contrast, the just-in-time philosophy is to
eliminate inventories by reducing the variability in demand and replenishment
cycle time, reducing lot size and forging strong relationships with a limited
number of suppliers to assure qualify products and accurate order filling.
Nature of Demand
The nature of demand over time plays
a significant role in determining how
we treat the control of inventory levels.
Several common types of demand
patterns are shown in the Figure.
Perhaps the most common demand
characteristic is for it to continue into
the indefinite future. The demand
pattern is referred to as perpetual.
Although demand for most products

rises and falls through their life cycles, many products have a selling life that is
sufficiently long to be considered infinite for purposes of planning. Even though
brands turn over at the rate of 20 percent per year, a life cycle of three to five
years can be long enough to justify treating them as having a perpetual demand
pattern.
On the other hand, some products are highly seasonal or have a one-time, or
spike, demand pattern. Inventories that are held to meet such a demand pattern
usually cannot be sold off without deep price discounting. A single order for
inventories must be placed with little or no opportunity to reorder or return
goods if demand has been inaccurately projected. Fashion clothing, Christmas
trees, and political campaign buttons, are examples of this type of demand
pattern. ,
Similarly, demand may display a lumpy, or erratic, pattern. The demand may be
perpetual, but there are periods of little or no demand followed by periods of
high demand. The timing of demand is not as predictable as for seasonal
demand, which usually occurs at the same time every year. Items in inventory
are typically a mixture of lumpy and perpetual demand items. A reasonable test
to separate these is to recognize that lumpy items have a high variance around
their mean demand level. If the standard deviation of the distribution of demand,
or the forecast error, is greater than the average demand, or forecast, the item
is probably lumpy. Inventory control of such items is best handled by intuitive
procedures or by mathematical procedures.
There are products whose demand terminates at some predictable time in the
future, which is usually longer than one year. Inventory planning here involves
maintaining inventories to just meet demand requirements, but some reordering
within the limited time horizon is allowed. Textbooks with planned revisions,
spare parts for military aircraft, and pharmaceuticals with a shelf life are
examples of products with a defined life. Because the distinction between these
products and those with a perpetual life is often blurred, they will not be treated
differently from perpetual-life products for the purposes of developing a
methodology to control them. Finally, the demand pattern for an item may be
derived from demand for some other item. The demand for packaging materials
is derived from the demand for the primary product. The inventory control of
such dependent demand items is best handled by materials requirements
planning (MRP) and distribution requirements planning (DRP) procedures.
Management Philosophy
There are two basic philosophies around which inventory management is
developed. First, there is the pull approach. This philosophy views each stocking

point, say a warehouse,

as independent of all
others in the channel.
Forecasting demand and
determining
replenishment quantities
are done by considering
only local conditions. (
See Figure). No direct
consideration is given to
the
effect
that
the
replenishment quantities,
each with their different
levels and timing, will
have on the economics of the sourcing plant. However, this approach does give
precise control over inventory levels at each location. Pull methods are
particularly popular at the retail level in the supply channel where more than 60
percent of the hard goods and almost 40 percent of the soft goods are under
replenishment programs.
Alternatively, there is the push approach to inventory management. When
decisions about each inventory are made independently, the timing and
replenishment order sizes are not necessarily well coordinated with production
sizes, economical purchase quantities, or order size minimums. Therefore, many
choose to allocate replenishment quantities to inventories based on projected
needs for inventories at each location, available space, or some other criteria.
Inventory levels are set collectively across the entire warehousing system.
Typically, the push method is used when purchasing or production economies of
scale outweigh the benefits of minimum collective inventory levels as achieved
by the pull method. Also inventories can be managed centrally for better overall
control, production and purchase economies can be used to dictate inventory
levels for lower costs, and forecasting be made on aggregate demand and then
apportioned to each stocking point for improved accuracy.
Degree of Product Aggregation
Much of inventory control is directed at controlling each item in inventory.
Precise control of each item can lead to precise control of the sum of the
inventory levels all items. This is a bottoms-up approach to inventory
management.
Management of product groups rather than individual items is an alternate, or
top-down approach-a common perspective of top management. Although daily
operation of inventories may require item-level control, strategic planning of

inventory levels can be accomplished by substantially aggregating products into

broad groups. This is a satisfactory approach when managing the inventory
investment of all items collectively is the issue, and the effort associated with an
item-by-item analysis for thousands of items at many locations is not warranted.
Methods of control tend to be less precise for aggregate inventory management
than for item management.

INVENTORY OBJECTIVES
Inventory
management
involves balancing product
availability,
or
customer
service, on the one hand with
the costs of providing a given
level of product availability on
the other. Since there may be
more than one way of meeting
the customer service target,
we
seek
to
minimize
inventory-related costs for
each level of customer service
See Figure. Let us begin the
development of the methodology to control inventories with a way to define
product availability and an identification of the costs relevant to managing
inventory levels.
Product Availability
A primary objective of inventory management is to assure that product is
available at the time and in the quantities desired. This is commonly judged on
the basis of the probability of being able to fill a request for a product from
current stock. This probability, or item fill rate, is referred to as the service level,
and, for a single item, can be defined as
Service level =

1-

Expected number of units out of stock annually

Total annual demand

Service level is expressed as a value between 0 and 1. Because a target service

level is typically specified, our task will be to control the expected number of
units out of stock.
We will see that controlling the service level for single items is computationa1ly
convenient. However, customers frequently request more than one item at a

time. Therefore, the probability of filling the customer order completely can be of
greater concern than single-item service levels. For example, suppose that five
items are requested on an order where each item has a service level of 0.95,
that is, only a 5 percent chance of not being in stock. Filling the entire order
without any item being out of stock would be 0.95 x 0.95 x 0.95 x 0.95 x 0.95 =
0.77. The probability of filling the order completely is somewhat less than the
individual item probabilities.
A number of orders from many customers will show that a mixture of items can
appear on anyone order. The service level is then more properly expressed as a
weighted average fill rate (WAFR). The WAFR is found by multiplying the
frequency with which each combination of items appears on the order by the
probability of filling the order completely, given the number of items on the
order. If a target W AFR is specified, then the service levels for each item must
be adjusted so as to achieve this desired WAFR.
A specialty chemical company receives orders for one of its paint products. The
paint product line contains three separate items that are ordered by customers in
various combinations. From a sampling of orders over a period of time, the items
appear on orders in seven different combinations with frequencies as noted in
the Table. Also from the company's historical records, the probability of having
each item in stock is SL1=0.95; SL2=0.90; and SL3=0.80. As the calculations in
the Table show, the WAFR is 0.801. There will be about one order in five where
the company cannot supply all items at the time of the customer request.
Table :Computation of the weighted Average Fill Rate
Item
(1) Frequenc
(2) Probability of
(3)=(1)
(2)
Combination on
y
filling order
Marginal
Order
of Order
complete
value
A
0.1
(0.95)=0.950
0.095
B
0.1
(0.90)=0.900
0.090
C
0.2
(0.80)=0.800
0.160
A,B
0.2
(0.95)(0.90)=0.855
0.171
A,C
0.1
((0.95)(0.80)=0.760
0.076
B,C
0.1
(0.90)(0.80)=0.720
0.072
A,B,C
0.2
(0.95)(0.90)(0.80)=0.
0.137
684
1.0
WAFR 0.801

Relevant Costs
Three general classes of costs are
important to determining inventory
policy: procurement costs, carrying
costs, and out-of -stock costs. These
costs are in conflict, or in trade-off, with
each other. For determining the order

quantity to replenish an item in inventory, these relevant costs trade off as

shown in Figure.
Procurement Costs
Costs associated with the acquisition of goods for the replenishment of
inventories are often a significant economic force that determines the reorder
quantities. When a stock replenishment order is placed, a number of costs are
incurred that are related to the processing, setup, transmitting, handling, and
purchase of the order. More specifically, procurement costs may include the
price, or manufacturing cost, of the product for various order sizes; the cost for
setting up the production process; the cost of processing an order through the
accounting and purchasing departments; the cost of transmitting the order to the
supply point, usually by mail or electronic means; the cost transporting the order
when transportation charges are not included in the price of the purchased
goods; and the cost of any materials handling or processing of the goods at the
receiving point. When the firm is self-supplied, as in the case of a factory
replenishing its own finished goods inventories, procurement costs are altered to
reflect production setup costs. Transportation costs may not be relevant if a
delivered pricing policy, in effect.
Some of these procurement costs are fixed per order and do not vary with the
order size. Others, such as transportation, manufacturing, and materials-handling
costs vary to a degree with order size. Each requires slightly different analytical
treatment.
Carrying Costs
Inventory carrying costs result from storing, or holding, goods for a period of
time and are roughly proportional to the average quantity of goods on hand.
These costs can be collected into four classes: space costs, capital costs,
inventory service costs, and inventory risk costs.
Space Costs
Space costs are charges made for the use of the cubic footage inside the storage
building. When the space is rented, storage rates are typically charged by weight
for a period of time, for example, $/cwt/month. If the space is privately owned
or contracted, space costs are determined by allocating space-related operating
costs such as heat and light, as well as fixed costs, such as building and storage
equipment costs, on a volume-stored basis. Space costs are irrelevant when
calculating carrying costs for in-transit inventories.

Capital Costs
Capital costs refer to the cost of the money tied up in inventory. This cost may
represent more than 80 percent of total inventory cost, yet it is the most
intangible and subjective of all the carrying cost elements. There are two reasons
for this. First, inventory represents a mixture of short-term and long-term assets,
as some stocks may serve seasonal needs and others are held to meet longerterm demand patterns. Second, the cost of capital may vary from the prime rate
of interest to the opportunity cost of capital.
The exact cost of capital for inventory purposes has been debated for some time.
Many firms use their average cost of capital, whereas others use the average
rate of return required of company investments. The hurdle rate has been
suggested as most accurately reflecting the true capital cost. The hurdle rate is
the rate of return on the most lucrative investments forgone by the firm.
Inventory Service Costs
Insurance and taxes are also a part of inventory carrying costs because their
level roughly depends on the amount of inventory on hand. Insurance coverage
is carried as a protection against losses from fire, storm, or theft. Inventory taxes
are levied on the inventory levels found on the day of assessment. Although the
inventory at the point in time of the tax assessment only crudely reflects the
average inventory level experienced throughout the year, taxes typically
represent only a small portion of total carrying cost. Tax rates are readily
available from accounting or public records.
Inventory Risk Costs
Costs associated with deterioration, shrinkage (theft), damage, or obsolescence
make up the final category of carrying costs. In the course of maintaining
inventories, a certain portion of the stock will become contaminated, damaged,
spoiled, pilfered, or otherwise unfit or unavailable for sale. The costs associated
with such stock may be estimated as the direct loss of product value, as the cost
of re working the product, or as the cost of supplying it from a secondary
location.
Out of Stock Costs
Out-of-stock costs are incurred when an order is placed but cannot be filled from
the inventory to which the order is normally assigned. There are two kinds of
out-of- stock costs: lost sales costs and back order costs. Each presupposes

certain actions on the part of the customer, and, because of their intangible
nature, they are difficult to measure accurately. A lost sales cost occurs when the
customer, faced with an out-of-stock situation, chooses to withdraw his or her
request for the product. The cost is the profit that would have been made on this
particular sale and may also include an additional cost for the negative effect
that the stock out may have on future sales. Products for which the customer is
very willing to substitute competing brands, such as bread, gasoline, or soft
drinks, are those that are most likely to incur lost sales. A back order cost occurs
when a customer will wait for his or her order to be filled so that the sale is not
lost, only delayed. Back orders can create additional clerical and sales costs for
order processing, and additional transportation and handling costs when such
orders are not filled through the normal distribution channel. These costs are
fairly tangible, so measurement of them is not too difficult. There also may be
the in- tangible cost of lost future sales. This cost is very difficult to measure.
Products that can be differentiated in the mind of the consumer (automobiles
and major appliances) are more likely to be back ordered than substituted.

PUSH INVENTORY CONTROL

Let us begin to develop methods for controlling inventory levels with the push
philosophy. Recall that this method is appropriate where production or purchase
quantities exceed the short-term requirements of the inventories into which the
quantities are to be shipped. If these quantities cannot be stored at the
production site for lack of space or other reasons, then they must be allocated to
the stocking points, hopefully in some way that makes economic sense. We need
to address the following questions: How much inventory should be maintained at
each stocking point? For a particular production run or purchase, how much
should be allocated to each stocking point? How should the excess supply over
requirements be apportioned among the stocking points?
A method for pushing quantities into stocking points involves the following steps:
1.Determine by forecasting or other means the requirements for the period
between now and the next expected production run or vendor purchase.
2. Find the current on-hand quantities at each stocking point.
3. Establish the stock availability level at each stocking point.
4. Calculate total requirements from the forecast plus additional quantities
needed to cover uncertainty in he demand forecast.
5. Determine net requirements as the difference between total requirements and
the quantities on hand.
6. Apportion the excess over total net requirements to the stocking points on the
basis of the average demand rate, that is, the forecasted demand.
7. Sum the requirements and the proration of excess quantities to find the
amount to be allocated to each stocking point.

When the tuna boats are sent to the fishing grounds, a packer of tuna products
must process all the tuna caught since storage is limited, and, for competitive
reasons, the company does not want to sell the excess of this valued product to
other packers. Therefore, this packer processes all fish brought in by the fleet
and then allocates the production to its three field warehouses on a monthly
basis. There is only enough storage at the plant for one month's demand. The
current production run is 125,000 lb.
For the upcoming month, the needs of each warehouse were forecasted, the
current sock levels checked, and desired stock availability level noted for each
warehouse. The findings are tabulated in the following Table
Warehouse

Current
Level

1
2
3

5,0001b
15,000
30,000

Stock

Forecasted
Demand
10,0001b
50,000
70,000
130,000

Forecast
Errora
(std.
Dev.)
2,0001b
1,500
20,000

Stock
Levelb

Availability

90%
95%
90%

a Assumed to be normally distributed.

b stock availability level is defined as the probability of having stock available
during the forecast period
Now we need to compute the total requirements or each warehouse. Total
requirements for warehouse 1 will be the forecast quantity plus the added
amount needed to assure a 90 percent stock availability level. This is found by
Total requirements = Forecast + (z Forecast error)
Where z is the number of standard deviations on the normal distribution curve
beyond the forecast (the mean of the distribution) to the point where 90 percent
of the area under the curve is represented. See the following figure.

From the normal distribution curve z= 1.28. Hence, the total requirements for
each warehouse would be 12,560 = 10,000 + (1.28 2,000). Other warehouse
total requirements are computed similarly.
Net requirements are found as the difference between total requirements and
the quantity on hand in the warehouse. Summing the net requirements

(110,635) shows that 125,000 -110,635 =14,365 which is the excess production
that needs to e prorated to the warehouses.
Proration of excess 14,365 lb is made in proportion to the average demand rate
at each warehouse. Average demand for warehouse 1 is 10,000 lb. against a
total demand rate for all warehouses of 130,000 lb. The proportion of the excess
allocated to warehouse 1 should be (10,000+ 130,000) (14,365) =1,105.
Compute the proration for the remaining warehouses in a similar manner. The
total allocation to a warehouse is the sum of its net requirements plus its
proration of the excess. The results are tabulated in the following Table.
Table: Allocation of Tuna production to Three warehouses
Warehouse

(1)Total
Requirements

(2) On Hand

1
2
3

12,560 lb.
52,475
95,600
160,635

5,000
15,000
30,000

(3) =(1)-(2)
Net
Requirements
7,560 lb.
37,475
65,600
110,635

(4) Proration
of Excess
1,105 lb.
5,525
7,735
14,365

(5)
=(3)
+(4)
Allocation
8,665 lb
43,000
73,335
125,000

BASIC PULL INVENTORY MODEL

Single-Order Quantity
Many practical Inventory Problems exist where the products involved are
perishable or the demand for them is a one-time event. Products such as fruits
and vegetables or the cut flowers, newspapers and some pharmaceuticals have a
short and defined shelf life and they are not available for subsequent selling
periods. Others such as toys and fashion clothes for the immediate selling
season, posters for political campaign etc. have a one-time demand level that
usually cannot be estimated with certainty. Only one order can be placed for
these products to meet such demand. The objective is to determine how large
the single order should be.
To find the most economic order size (Q*), we can use the marginal economic
analysis. That is Q* is found at the point where the marginal profit on the next
unit sold equals the marginal loss of not selling the next unit. The marginal profit
per unit obtained by selling a unit is
Profit = Price per unit - Cost per unit
The per-unit loss incurred by not selling a unit is
Loss = Cost per unit - Salvage Value per unit
Considering the probability of a given number of units being sold, the expected
profits and the losses are balanced at this point. That is,

CPn (Loss) = (1 - CPn) (Profit)

Where CPn represents the cumulative frequency of selling at least n units of the
product.
Solving the above expression for CPn, we have
CPn

= Profit / ( Profit + Loss )

This says that we should continue to increase the order quantity until the
cumulative probability of selling additional units just equals the ratio of the Profit
/ (Profit + Loss).
A grocery store estimates that it will sell 100 pounds of its specially prepared
potato salad in the next week. The distribution of demand is normally distributed
with a standard deviation of 20 pounds. The supermarket can sell the salad for $
5.99 per pound for the ingredients. Because no preservatives are used, any
unsold salad is given to charity at no cost.
Finding the quantity to prepare that will maximize profit requires that we first
compute CPn. That is
CPn. = Profit/ Profit + Loss = (5.99-2.50) / (5.99-2.50) + 2.50 = 0.583
From the normal distribution curve, the optimum Q* is at the point of 58.3
percent of the area under the curve (see the figure). This is a point where z
=0.21 The preparation quantity should be
Q* =100 lb. +0.21 (20 lb.) =104.2 lb.

When Demand is discrete, the order quantity may be between whole values. In
such cases, we will round up Q to the next higher unit to assure at least CPn is
met.

An equipment repair firm whishes to order enough spare parts to keep a

machine tool running throughout a trade show. The repairman prices the parts at
$95 each if needed for a repair. He pays $70 for each part. If all the parts are
not needed they may be returned to the supplier for a credit of $50 each. The
demand for the part is estimated according to the following distribution:

Number of parts
0
1
2
3
4
5

Frequency of Need
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.30
0.20
0.05
1.00

Cumulative Frequency
0.10
0.25
0.45
0.75
Q*
0.95
1.00

We should set the order quantity at

CPn = Profit / (Profit + Loss )= (95-70) / [(95-70)+(70-50) ]= 0.555
The CPn value is between two and three units on the cumulative frequency
column. Rounding up, we choose Q* = 3

REPETITIVE ORDER QUANTITIES

Instantaneous Resupply
When demand is continuous and at an essentially constant rate, controlling
inventory levels is accomplished by specifying (1) the quantity that will be used
to replenish the inventory on a periodic basis and (2) the frequency with which
the inventory should be replenished. This is a problem of balancing conflicting
cost patterns. In the simplest case, it requires balancing procurement costs
against carrying costs, as was previously shown. Ford Harris ( F. W. Harris,
"How Many Parts to Make at Once," Factory, The Magazine of Management 10,
no.2 (February 1913): 135-136, 152) recognized this problem as early as 1913 in
his work at Westinghouse. The model that he developed for finding the optimum
order quantity has become known as the basic economic order quantity (EOQ)
formula, and it serves as the basis for many of the pull inventory policies
currently used in practice.
The basic EOQ formula is developed from a total cost equation involving
procurement cost and inventory carrying cost. It is expressed as
Total cost = Procurement cost + Carrying cost
TC=-(D/Q)S+ ICQ/2
where

TC = total annual relevant inventory cost, dollars

Q = size of each order to replenish inventory, units
D = annual demand for the item in inventory, units
S = procurement cost, dollars/order
C=
value of the item carried in inventory, dollars/unit I = carrying
cost as a percent of item value, %/year
The term D/Q represents the number of times per year a replenishment order is
placed on its supply source. The term Q/2 is the average amount of inventory on
hand.
As Q varies, one cost goes up as the other goes down. It can be shown
mathematically that an optimal order quantity (Q*) exists where the two costs
are in balance and the minimal total cost results. The formula for this EOQ is
2D C

Q* =

IC

The optimal time between orders is therefore

T* =

Q *
D

and the number of times per year to place an order is

N* =

D
Q *
Replacement parts are supplied from an inventory by a manufacturer of
industrial machine tools. For a particular part, the annual demand is expected to
be 750 units. Machine set up costs are $50, carrying costs are 25 percent per
year, and the part is valued in inventory at $35 each. The economic order
quantity placed on production is

Q* =

2DS
2(750)(50)
=
= 92.58 or 93units
IC
(0.25)(35)

This order size can be expected to be placed in production every T* = Q*/D =

92.58/750 = 0.12344 years, or 0.12344(years) 52 (weeks per year)=6.4
weeks. Of course, we may wish to round this to 6 or 7 weeks with some slight
increase in total costs.

A Lead Time for Resupply

Using this formula as part of a basic inventory control procedure, we see that a
sawtooth pattern of inventory depletion and replenishment occurs, as illustrated
in the Figure.

We can now introduce the idea of a reorder point, which is the quantity to which
inventory is allowed to drop before a replacement order is placed. Because there
is generally a time lapse between when the order is placed and when the items
are available in inventory, the demand that occurs over this lead time must be
anticipated. The reorder point (ROP) is
ROP = d x LT
where
ROP = reorder point quantity, units
d = demand rate, in time units
LT = average lead time, in time units
The demand rate (d) and the average lead time (LT) must be expressed in the
same time dimension.
Continuing the previous example for the machine replacement part, suppose that
it takes 1.5 weeks to set up production and make the parts. The demand rate is
d=750 (units per year) /52 (weeks per year)=14.42 units per week. Therefore,
ROP=14.42 1.5 = 21.6 or 22 units. We can now state the inventory policy:
When the inventory level drops to 22 units, place a replenishment
order for 93 units.

Sensitivity to Data Inaccuracies

Demand and costs cannot always be known for sure. However, our computation,
the economic order quantity is not very sensitive to misestimations of the data.
For example, if demand is in fact 10 percent higher than anticipated, Q* should
only be increased by 11
. 0 =4.88 percent. If the carrying cost is 20 percent
lower
than
summed,
Q*
should
be
increased
by
only
1
= 1 1.8 p e r c e n t .
(1 - 0 .2 0 )

These percentage changes are inserted into the

EOQ formula without changing the remaining cost and/or demand factors since
they remain constant. Notice the stability in values for Q*. If the incorrect order
quantity were used in these two cases, total would have been in error by only
0.11 percent and 0.62 percent, respectively.
Noninstantaneous Resupply
A built-in assumption to Ford Harris's original EOQ formula was that resupply
would be made instantaneously in a single batch of size Q*. In some
manufacturing and resupply processes, output is continuous for a period of time,
and it may take place simultaneously with demand. The basic sawtooth pattern
of on-hand inventory is modified, as shown in the Figure.

The order quantity now becomes the production run, or production order,
quantity (POQ), and we will label it Q p*. To find this, the basic order quantity
formula is modified as follows:
Q p* =

2D S

IC

p - d

where p is the output rate. Computing Q p only makes sense when the output
rate p exceeds the demand rate d.
Again, for the previous parts replacement problem, suppose that the production
rate for these parts is 50 units per week. The production run quantity is

Qp * =

2(70)( 50)
(0.25)( 35)

50
50 14.42

=
92.58 1.185 = 109.74, or 110 units
The ROP quantity remains unchanged.

ADVANCED PULL INVENTORY CONTROL

Advanced pull control of inventories means that we begin to recognize that
demand and lead time cannot be known for sure. Therefore, we must plan for
the situation where not enough stock may be on hand to fill customer requests.
In addition to the regular stock that is maintained for the purpose of meeting
average demand and average lead time, an increment of inventory is added. The
amount of this safety, or buffer, stock sets the level of stock availability provided
to customers of the inventory by controlling the probability of a stockout
occurring. .
Two inventory control methods form the foundation for most pull-type
management philosophies with perpetual demand patterns. These are (1) the
reorder point method and (2) the period review method. Practical Control
systems may be based on either of these methods or on a combination of them.
A REORDER POINT MODEL WITH UNCERTAIN DEMAND
Finding Q* and ROP
Reorder point inventory control assumes that demand is perpetual and
continually acts on inventory to reduce its level. When inventory is depleted to
the point where its level is equal to or less than a specified quantity called the
reorder point, an economic order quantity of Q* is placed on the supplying
source to replenish the inventory. The effective inventory level at a particular

point in time is the quantity on hand plus the stock on order less any
commitments against the inventory, such as customer back orders or allocations
to production. The entire quantity Q* arrives at a point in time offset by the lead
time. Between the time that the replenishment order is placed at the reorder
point and when it arrives in stock, there is a risk that demand wil1 exceed the
remaining amount of inventory. We control the probability of this occurring by
raising or lowering the reorder point, and by adjusting Q*.

In the Figure, the operation of the reorder point system is illustrated for a single
item where the demand during the lead time is known only to the extent of a
normal probability distribution. This demand during lead time (DDLT) distribution
has a mean of X' and a standard deviation of s'd. The values for X' and s'd are
usually not known directly, but they can be easily estimated by summing a
single-period demand distribution over the length of the lead time. For example,
suppose weekly demand for an item is normally distributed with a mean d = 100
units and a standard deviation of sd = 10 units. Lead time is 3 weeks. We wish to
roll up the weekly demand distribution into one 3-week DDLT distribution of
demand (see Figure below).
The mean of the DDLT distribution is simply the demand rate d times the lead
time LT; or X' = d x LT = 100 x 3 = 300. The variance of DDLT distribution is
found by adding the variances of the weekly demand distributions (see Figure
10-11). That is, s'd2= LT(sd2). The standard deviation is the square root of s'd2
which is .
s'd = sd LT = 10x 3 = 17.3. .

Finding Q* and the ROP is rather mathematically complex, however, a

satisfactory approximation can be found if we first determine Q* according to the
basic EOQ formula Then, find
ROP =d x LT +z(s'd)
The term z is the number of standard deviations from the mean of the DDLT
distribution to give us the desired probability of being in stock during the lead
time period (P). The value for z is found in a normal distribution table for the
fraction of the area P under the DDLT distribution. (See Figure)
Buyers products Company distributes an item known as a Tie Bar, which is a Ubolt used on truck equipment. The following data have been collected for this
item.
Monthly demand forecast, d
11.107 units
Std. error of forecast, sd
3,099 units
Replenishment lead time, LT
1.5 months
Item value ,C
$0.11/unit
Cost for processing vendor order, S
$10/order
Carrying cost,I
20% / year
In-stock probability during lead time, p
75%
The reorder quantity is
2D S
Q* =

IC

2 ( 1 11
, 0 7 ) (1 0 )
=

( 0 .2 0 / 1 2 ) ( 0 .1 1)

1 1 , 0 0 8 u n i t s

The reorder point is

ROP =d LT +z (s d)

where s d = sd LT = 3,099 1.5 = 3,795 units. The value for z is 0.67 from
Normal Tables where the fraction of the area under the normal distribution curve
is 0.75. Thus,
ROP = 11,107
1.5 + 0.67 3,795 =19,203 units. So, when the effective
inventory level drops to 19,203 units, place a reorder for 11,008 units.

It is not unusual for the reorder point quantity to exceed the order quantity, as
was the case in the example shown above. This frequently happens when lead
times are long and/or demand rates are high. To make the reorder point control
system work properly, we simply must make sure that in deciding when to
trigger a replenishment order, we base the decision on the effective inventory
level. Recall that the effective inventory level requires that we add all stock on
order to the current quantity on hand when deciding whether the reorder point
has been penetrated. When ROP > Q*, the result of this procedure is that a
second order will be placed before the first arrives in stock.
Average Inventory Level
The average inventory level (AIL) for this item is the total of the regular stock
plus safety stock. That is,
Average inventory = Regular stock + Safety stock
AI L = (Q/2) +z(s'd )
For the previous Tie Bar problem, the average inventory would be
AIL = 11,008 / 2 + 0.67 3,795 = 8047 units

Total Relevant Cost

The total relevant cost is useful for comparing alternative inventory policies or
determining the impact of deviations from optimum policies. We add two new
terms to the total cost formula stated in the Equation that account for
uncertainty. These are safety stock and out-of-stock terms. Total cost can now
be expressed as
Total cost = Order cost + Carrying cost (Regular Stock) + Carrying cost(Safety
Stock)+ Stock out cost

TC =

D
Q

S + IC

Q
2

+ I C z s' d +

D
S

k s' d E(z )

where k is the out-of-stock cost per unit. The stock out cost term requires some
explanation. First, the combined term of s'd E(z) represents the expected number
of units out of stock during an order cycle. E(z) is called the unit normal loss
integral whose values are tabled as a function of the normal deviate z. Second,
the term D/Q is the number of order cycles per period of time, usually a year.
Hence, the number of order cycles times the expected number of units out of
stock during each order cycle gives the total expected number of units out of
stock for the entire period. Then, multiplying by the out-of-stock cost yields the
total period cost.
Continuing the Tie Bar example, suppose the stockout cost is estimated at $0.01
per unit. The total annual cost for the item would be

1 1 , 1 0 7 ( 1 2 )( 1 0 )
TC =

1 1 , 0 0 8

1 1,0 0 8
+ 0 . 2 0 ( 0 .1 1) (

1 1,1 0 7 ( 2 )
) + ( 0. 2 0 ) ( 0 .1 1) (0 . 6 7 ) ( 3 7 9 5 ) +

1 1,0 0 8

( 0 .0 1) ( 3 7 9 5 ) (0 .1 5 0 )

= 121.08 + 121.09 + 55.94 + 68.92 = $ 367.03 per year

Note: The value of 0.150 for E
Table for z=0.67.

(z)

=E

(0.67)

is from the Normal Loss

Service Level
The customer service level, or item fill rate, achieved by a particular inventory
policy was previously defined. Restating it in the symbols now being used, we
have
S L = 1-

(D / Q ) ( s ' d E (z ))
D

= 1-

s ' d E ( z ))
Q

The service level achieved for the Tie Bar problem is

3 7 9 5 ( 0 .1 5 0 )
S e r v i c e L e v e l S L = 1-

= 0 .9 4 8
1 1,0 0 8

That is, the demand for Tie Bars can be met 94.8 percent of the time. Note that
this is somewhat higher than the probability of a stock out during the lead-time
of P = 0.75.

A manufacturer of quick-connect hose couplings uses an easy method for

implementing a reorder point method of inventory control. A finished goods
inventory is maintained at the factory from which customer orders are filled. The
stock is divided into two sections. An amount of an item equal to the reorder
point quantity is placed in a covered tray in the reserve section of the stocking
area. A second tray contains the remainder of the stock. All orders are filled from
the second tray first. When all stock is depleted from the second tray, the first

tray is brought from reserve storage and inserted into its position. This action is
the trigger to place a replenishment order on production. Little or no paper work
is needed to make a rather sophisticated inventory control system operate
effectively.

The Reorder Point Method with Known Stockout Costs

When the stock out costs are known, it is not necessary to assign a customer
service level. The optimum balance between service and cost may be calculated.
An iterative computational procedure is outlined as follows;
1. Approximate the order quantity from the basic EOQ formula; that is,
2D S

Q =

IC

2. Compute the probability of being in stock during the lead time from
P = 1-

QIC
D k

Find s'd. Find the z value that corresponds to P in the normal distribution table.
Find E(z) from the unit normal loss integral table.
3. Determine a revised Q from a modified EOQ formula, which is
2 D [ S + k s' d E ( z ) ]

Q =

IC

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until there is no change in P or Q. Continue.

5. Compute ROP and other statistics as desired.
Repeating the Tie Bar example, with the known stockout cost of $0.01 per unit
Estimate Q

2D S
Q =

IC

2 (1 1,1 0 7 ) ( 1 0 )
=

( 0 . 2 0 / 1 2 ) ( 0 .1 1)

1 1 , 0 0 8 u n i t s

Estimate P
P = 1-

QIC
D k

= 1

11,008(0.2 0)(0.11)

0 . 8 2

1 1 , 1 0 7 ( 1 2 )( 0 . 0 1 )

From Normal Table [email protected] = 0.91 from Normal Loss Table E(0.91) =0.0968.
Revise Q

The Standard deviation of DDLT was calculated previously to be s =3,795 units.

Now
2 D[S + k s'
Q =

E( z ) ]

2 ( 1 1 , 1 0 7 ) ( 1 2 ) [ 1 0 + 0 . 0 1 ( 3 7 9 5 )( 0 . 0 9 6 8 ) ]
=

IC

= 1 2 , 8 7 2

0 . 2 0 ( 0 . 1 1 )

u n it s

Revise P
P = 1

12,872(0.2 0)(0.11)

0 . 7 9

1 1 , 1 0 7 ( 1 2 )( 0 . 0 1 )

Now, z

@ 0.79

= 0.81 and E (0.81) = 0.1181

Revise Q
2 ( 1 1 , 1 0 7 ) ( 1 2 ) [ 1 0 + 0 . 0 1 ( 3 7 9 5 )( 0 . 1 1 8 1 ) ]
Q =

= 1 3 , 2 4 6

0 . 2 0 ( 0 . 1 1 )

u n it s

We continue this revision process until the changes in P and Q are sufficiently
small that further calculation is not practical. The final results are P=0.78:
Q*=13,395 units; ROP =19,583 units with a total relevant cost of TC =$15,019
and an actual service level of SL =96%.

The Reorder Point Method with Demand and Lead Time Uncertainty
Accounting for uncertainty in the lead time can extend the realism of the reorder
porn' model. What we wish to do is find the standard deviation (sd) of the DDLT
distribution based on uncertainty in both demand and lead time. This is found by
adding the variance of demand to the variance of lead time, giving us a revised
formula for s'd of
2

s'

L T s + d

L T

where SLT is the standard deviation of the lead time.

In the Tie Bar problem, SLT is 0.5 months. The value for s d would
now be
2

s'

1. 5 ( 3 0 9 9 )

+ 1 1 1 0 7 ( 0 .5 )

= 6 ,7 2 7 u n i t s

Combining demand and lead-time variability in this way can greatly increase s'd
and the resulting safety stock. Brown warns that demand and lead-time
distributions may not be independent of each other. Rather, when a
replenishment order is placed, a fair idea is known as to the lead-time for that
order. Therefore, application of Equation (10-18) may lead to an overstatement
of s'd and the resulting amount of safety stock. If lead times do vary

unpredictably, Brown suggests the following precise procedure for determining

the standard deviation of demand during lead-time:
Forecast demand per lead-time. A lead-time starts when you trigger a
replenishment order. ....Record the demand year-to-date at that time. Later,
whenever material is received is, by definition, the end of the lead time. Examine
the demand year-to-date then. The difference between the current demand
year-to-date and the value when the order was released is precisely, by
definition, the demand during the lead time. The values of this variable can be
forecast (usually with very simple forecast models) and the mean square error is
the variance of demand during lead time, precisely the value being sought.

Alternately and less precisely, the longest lead time may be used as the average
lead time with s LT set at zero (0). The standard deviation is then computed as s'd
= sd LT.
Suppose inventory is to be maintained on a distributor's shelf for an item whose
demand is forecasted to be d=100 units per day and s d =10 units per day. A
reorder point is the method of inventory control. There are multiple points
throughout the supply channel where time is incurred in the product flow
between source point and customer. The distributions of these times that form
the order replenishment lead time are shown in the following figure. No
significant amounts of inventory are maintained at the pool point or in the trucks.

We also know that:

I = 10% / year
S = $ 10 / order
C = $ 5 /unit
P = 0.99
Determine the average inventory to be held at the distributor.

Solution
The reorder point n
i ventory control method applies. However, determining the
statistics of the demand-during-lead-time distribution requires taking the leadtime for the entire channel into account.
Recall:
2

s'

L T s + d

L T

Where
2

= s
L T

+ s
p

+ s
i

=0.1 +1.0 +0.25

=1.35 days
and
=8 p + 8 i + 8 o
=1 +4 +2= 7 days

LT

'

7 x1 0

+ 1 0 0

x 1. 3 5 =

1 4 , 2 0 0 = 1 1 9 .1 6 u n i t s

and
Finally, the average inventory level is
1 2 0 8
AIL =

+ 2 . 3 3 (1 1 9 .1 6 ) = 8 8 2 u n i t s

A Periodic Review Model with Uncertain Demand

An alternative to the reorder point method of control is the periodic review
method. Although the reorder point method offers precise control over each item
in inventory and, therefore, the lowest total relevant cost, it has some economic
disadvantages. For example, each item is possibly ordered at a different time,
thus missing joint production, transportation, or buying economies.
Administratively, reorder point control re- quires constant monitoring of the
inventory levels. Alternatively, under periodic review control, inventory levels for
multiple items can be reviewed at the same time so that they may be ordered
together. Periodic review control results in slightly more inventory, but the added
carrying costs may be more than offset by reduced administrative costs, lower
prices, and/or lower procurement costs. Reasons for preferring a periodic review
method can be summarized as follows:
1.

A manual book inventory system is used , and it is convenient to review

inventory stocks on a definite schedule. This might bedone on a cycle
count basis in which portion of stock is reviewd each day or week,

2.
3.
4.

perhaps on an ABC basis ( reordering A items more oftn than B items

etc.). This also allows balancing of clerical workload.
A large number of items are to be jointly ordered from the same vendor
sources.
Items ordered have a significant effect on the supplying plants production
output and order predictability is desirable.
Significant transportation savings can sometimes result when several
items are ordered at the same time.