Dynamic Version of the Economic Lot Size Model

(This article originally appeared in Management Science, October 1958, Volume 5, Number 1, pp. 89-96, published by The Institute of Management Sciences.) A forward algorithm for a solution to the following dynamic version of the economic lot size model is given: allowing the possibility of demands for a single item, inventory holding charges, and setup costs to vary over N periods, we desire a minimum total cost inventory management scheme which satisfies known demand in every period. Disjoint planning horizons are shown to be possible which eliminate the necessity of having data for the full N periods.