Inventory Control and Trade Credit Revisited

This paper presents the discounted cash-flows (DCF) approach for the analysis of the optimal inventory policy in the presence of the trade credit. The DCF approach permits a proper recognition of the financial implication of the opportunity cost and out-of-pocket costs in inventory analysis. This approach also permits an explicit recognition of the exact timing of cash flows associated with an inventory system. As a result, the effect of the delayed payment is appropriately reflected in determining the optimal order size.