The famous Widget Company sells widgets at the rate of 80,000 units per year. Each widget sells for $100, and it costs 30 percent to carry widgets in inventory for a year. The process of widget production has been automated over the years, and it now costs $1000 to change over the widget production line to other products that are made on the same line.
a. What is the economical lot size for the production of widgets?
b. How many lots will be produced each year?
c. What are the annual cost of carrying widgets and the annual cost of changeover?
d. What factors or changes in assumptions might cause the Widget Company to produce a larger lot than the economic lot size calculated in part a?