Guides
How first-buy decisions are actually made in distribution, what the standard method misses, and the economics underneath it. Written for buyers, not for search engines.
- How to determine the initial order quantity for a new productThe standard method, comparable products, a sales-rep sanity check and a 10–15% buffer, is sound but incomplete. What it leaves out is the spread, and the economics that turn a spread into a quantity.
- Why your sales history understates demandSales records what you shipped, not what customers wanted. For any item that ever ran out, those differ, and the bias always points the same way. A worked example you can rebuild in Excel.
- What a minimum order quantity really costsThe price break is on the quote; the carrying cost and the liquidation loss are not. A worked example, the break-even sell-through to negotiate with, and the four routes to a smaller minimum.
- The newsvendor model, explained for buyersOne order, uncertain demand, two unequal costs. The classic result without the calculus, with the distribution-side caveats that matter when the product has no sales history.
- First buy vs. safety stockBoth answer uncertainty; they answer different questions. Why the safety-stock formula misfires on a new item, what replaces it, and when to switch from one to the other.