Key Concepts: Week 5 Lesson 2:

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)

Learning Objectives
Able to estimate the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and to determine when it is appropriate to
use
Understand strengths (robust, simple) and weaknesses (strong assumptions) of EOQ model
Able to estimate sensitivity of EOQ to underlying changes in the input data and understanding of
its underlying robustness

Lesson Summary:

The Economic Order Quantity or EOQ is the most influential and widely used (and sometimes mis-used!)
inventory model in existence. While very simple, it provides deep and useful insights. Essentially, the
EOQ is a trade-off between fixed (ordering) and variable (holding) costs. It is often called Lot-Sizing as
well. The minimum of the Total Cost equation (when assuming demand is uniform and deterministic) is
the EOQ or Q*. The Inventory Replenishment Policy becomes Order Q* every T* time periods which
under our assumptions is the same as Order Q* when IP=0.

Like Wikipedia, the EOQ is a GREAT place to start, but not necessarily a great place to finish. It is a great
first estimate because it is exceptionally robust. For example, a 50% increase in Q over the optimal
quantity (Q*) only increase the TRC by ~ 8%!

While very insightful, the EOQ model should be used with caution as it has restrictive assumptions
(uniform and deterministic demand). It can be safely used for items with relatively stable demand and is
a good first-cut back of the envelope calculation in most situations. It is helpful to develop insights in
understanding the trade-offs involved with taking certain managerial actions, such as lowering the
ordering costs, lowering the purchase price, changing the holding costs, etc.

Key Concepts:

EOQ Model

Assumptions
o Demand is uniform and deterministic

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 o Lead time is instantaneous (0) although this is not restrictive at all since the
lead time, L, does not influence the Order Size, Q.
o Total amount ordered is received
Inventory Replenishment Policy
o Order Q* units every T* time periods
o Order Q* units when inventory on hand (IOH) is zero
Essentially, the Q* is the Cycle Stock for each replenishment cycle. It is the expected
demand for that amount of time between order deliveries.

Notation:

c: Purchase cost ($/unit)

ct: Ordering Costs ($/order)
ce: Excess holding Costs ($/unit/time); equal to ch
cs: Shortage costs ($/unit)
D: Demand (units/time)
DA: Actual Demand (units/time)
DF: Forecasted Demand (untis/time)
h: Carrying or holding cost ($/inventory $/time)
Q: Replenishment Order Quantity (units/order)
Q*: Optimal Order Quantity Under EOQ (units/order)
Q*A: Optimal Order Quantity with Actual Demand (units/order)
Q*F: Optimal Order Quantity with Forecasted Demand (units/order)
T: Order Cycle Time (time/order)
T*: Optimal Time between Replenishments (time/order)
N: Orders per Time or 1/T (order/time)
TRC(Q): Total Relevant Cost ($/time)
TC(Q): Total Cost ($/time)

Formulas:
Total Costs: TC = Purchase + Order + Holding + Shortage
This is the generic total cost equation. The specific form of the different elements depends on the
assumptions made concerning the demand, the shortage types, etc.

= + ! + ! + ! [ ]
2

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Total Relevant Costs: TRC = Order + Holding
The purchasing cost and the shortage costs are not relevant for the EOQ because the purchase price
does not change the optimal order quantity (Q*) and since we have deterministic demand, we will not
stock out.

= ! + !
2

Optimal Order Quantity (Q*)

Recall, this is simply the First Order condition of the TRC equation where it is a global minimum.

2!
=
!

Optimal Time between Replenishments

Recall that T* = Q*/D. That is, the time between orders is the optimal order size divided by the annual
demand. Similarly, the number of replenishments per year is simply N* = 1/T* = D/Q*. Plugging in the
actual Q* gives you the formula below.

2!
=
!

Optimal Total Relevant Costs

Plugging the Q* back into the TRC equation and simplifying gives you the formula below.

= 2! !

Optimal Total Costs

Adding the purchase cost to the TRC(Q*) costs gives you the TC(Q*). We still assume no stock out costs.

= + 2! !

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Sensitivity Analysis
The EOQ is very robust. The following formulas provide simply ways of calculating the impact of using a
non-optimal Q, an incorrect annual Demand D, or a non-optimal time interval, T.

EOQ Sensitivity with Respect to Order Quantity

The equation below calculates the percent difference in total relevant costs to optimal, when using a
non-optimal order quantity (Q):

() 1

= +
( ) 2

EOQ Sensitivity with Respect to Demand

The equation below calculates the percent difference in total relevant costs to optimal, when using
assuming an incorrect annual demand (DF) when in fact the actual annual demand is DA:

(! ) 1 ! !
= +
(! ) 2 ! !

EOQ Sensitivity with Respect to Time Interval between Orders

The equation below calculates the percent difference in total relevant costs to optimal, when using a
non-optimal replenishment time interval (T). This will become very important when finding realistic
replenishment intervals. The Power of Two Policy shows that ordering in increments of 2k time periods,
we will stay within 6% of the optimal solution. For example, if the base time period is 1 week, then the
Power of Two Policy would suggest ordering every week (20) or every 2 weeks (21) or every four weeks
(22) or every 8 weeks (23) etc. Select the interval closest to one of these increments.

1

= +
2

Additional References:
There are more books that cover the basics of inventory management than there are grains of sand on
the beach! Inventory management is also usually covered in Operations Management and Industrial
Engineering texts as well. A word of warning, though. Every textbook uses different notation for the
same concepts. Get used to it. Always be sure to understand what the nomenclature means so that you
do not get confused.

I will make references to our core texts we are using in this course but will add some additional texts as
they fit the topics. Inventory is introduced in Nahmias Chpt 4 and Silver, Pyke & Peterson Chpt 5, and
Ballou Chpt 9.

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