How do your answers to Problems 1 and 2 provide insight into a collaborative purchasing strategy?
Problems 1
Discount-Mart (see Problem 2), as part of its new Lean program, has signed a long-term contract with Specialty Lighting and will place orders electronically for its halogen lamps. Ordering costs will drop to $.50 per order, but Discount Mart also reassessed its carrying costs and raised them to $20 per lamp.
a) What is the new economic order quantity?
b) How many orders will now be placed?
c) What is the total annual cost of managing the inventory with this policy?
Problem 2
Discount-Mart, a major East Coast retailer, wants to determine the economic order quantity (see Chapter 12 for EOQ formulas) for its halogen lamps. It currently buys all halogen lamps from Specialty Lighting Manufacturers in Atlanta. Annual demand is 2,000 lamps, ordering cost per order is $30, and annual carrying cost per lamp is $12.
a) What is the EOQ?
b) What are the total annual costs of holding and ordering (managing) this inventory?
c) How many orders should Discount-Mart place with Specialty Lighting per year?