What is the EOQ formula?

Prepare for the FBLA Introduction to Supply Chain Management Test with flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Each question includes hints and detailed explanations. Maximize your success rate!

Multiple Choice

What is the EOQ formula?

Explanation:
Balancing ordering costs and holding costs to find the optimal lot size is what this question is about. The EOQ tells you the order quantity that minimizes total annual inventory costs, given the annual demand, the cost to place each order, and the annual holding cost per unit. If you think of the total annual cost as two parts—ordering cost, which goes down when you order less often, and holding cost, which goes up when you carry more inventory—you want the point where these two costs are balanced. With demand D (units per year), ordering cost per order S, and holding cost per unit per year H, the total annual cost for ordering quantity Q is: ordering cost = (D/Q) × S and holding cost = (Q/2) × H. Minimizing the sum of these two terms with respect to Q leads to the derivative -DS/Q^2 + H/2 = 0, which rearranges to Q^2 = 2DS/H. Taking the square root gives the EOQ: sqrt(2DS/H). This is the quantity that minimizes total inventory costs. The other forms shown would either miss the square root, place the factors incorrectly, or omit the necessary balance between ordering and holding costs, so they don’t yield the quantity that minimizes total cost.

Balancing ordering costs and holding costs to find the optimal lot size is what this question is about. The EOQ tells you the order quantity that minimizes total annual inventory costs, given the annual demand, the cost to place each order, and the annual holding cost per unit. If you think of the total annual cost as two parts—ordering cost, which goes down when you order less often, and holding cost, which goes up when you carry more inventory—you want the point where these two costs are balanced.

With demand D (units per year), ordering cost per order S, and holding cost per unit per year H, the total annual cost for ordering quantity Q is: ordering cost = (D/Q) × S and holding cost = (Q/2) × H. Minimizing the sum of these two terms with respect to Q leads to the derivative -DS/Q^2 + H/2 = 0, which rearranges to Q^2 = 2DS/H. Taking the square root gives the EOQ: sqrt(2DS/H). This is the quantity that minimizes total inventory costs.

The other forms shown would either miss the square root, place the factors incorrectly, or omit the necessary balance between ordering and holding costs, so they don’t yield the quantity that minimizes total cost.

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