| Article ID: | iaor1989383 |
| Country: | United States |
| Volume: | 35 |
| Issue: | 7 |
| Start Page Number: | 898 |
| End Page Number: | 900 |
| Publication Date: | Jul 1989 |
| Journal: | Management Science |
| Authors: | Erlenkotter Donald |
| Keywords: | inventory, philosophy |
The familiar square-root formula for the optimal economic order quantity was derived originally by Harris in 1915. Since all citations found to Harris’s paper over the past 35 years are incorrect, it seems that no one has been able to locate the paper during this period. The paper’s apparent misplacement probably stems from an inaccurate citation given by Raymond in 1931. Harris’s paper exemplifies skillful presentation of the concepts of management science, and still merits reading. Today’s researcher can learn from Harris’s modeling approach, and would do well to emulate his expositional clarity and motivational effectiveness.