EOQ for restaurant supplies on a Sysco cadence
For a 60-cover independent restaurant ordering from a single broadliner on a fixed Tuesday and Friday delivery, EOQ usually collapses to "order what fits the walk-in between deliveries." The Wilson math is still useful as a sanity check that the order cycle and the cadence are not fighting each other[1].
Inputs that actually matter
S is small (a phone call or a portal click is under five dollars in labour). H is moderate unless the SKU is fresh produce, in which case H is dominated by shrinkage to expiry. Lead time is fixed at one to three days for a regional broadliner. The constraint is rarely Q* itself; it is walk-in cubic feet and the next delivery slot.
| Annual demand D (cases / year) | 624 |
| Order cost S ($ / order) | $5 |
| Unit cost C ($ / case) | $22 |
| Carrying cost i (% / year) | 30 percent |
| H = i * C ($ / case / year) | $6.60 |
| Annual holding | $102 |
| Annual ordering | $102 |
| Annual total (ex. purchase) | $204 |
Where EOQ does help
Two cases. First, slow-moving non-perishables (canned tomato sauce, paper goods) where Wilson Q* is a defensible reorder quantity within the cadence. Second, deciding whether to consolidate two broadliner runs into one larger delivery to save the per-delivery fuel-surcharge fee that some suppliers itemise[2].
When it does not help
Fresh produce on a 5 to 7 day shelf life. Daily-changing specials. Anything where the chef’s next menu pivot drives demand more than last week’s sales did. Use the perishable scenario for the produce case.