Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) - Definition & Meaning

Published in Operations and Supply Chain Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)?

Economic order quantity (EOQ) is the quantity of a product that should be ordered so as to minimize the total cost that includes ordering costs and inventory holding costs.

The basic model of EOQ gives the equation to calculate EOQ as follows,    

 
EOQ= √((2* Annual Demand*Co)/Ci )

where,

Co = fixed cost per order or the ordering cost

Ci= Inventory holding cost per unit

This is deduced by differentiating and finding the minima for the equation for the total annual cost, which comprises of the variable purchase cost, the ordering cost and the inventory holding cost. But the EOQ does not depend on the purchase cost as it remains constant for the same annual demand whatever be the order quantity.

With increasing order quantity, the number of orders to be placed in the year decreases and thus the ordering cost decreases but at the same time the inventory holding cost goes on increasing. At the EOQ value, the total cost comprising of both these costs is at its minimum value.

 

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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