Question:

Consider the aggregate planning problem for a toy car manufacturing organization whose demand at a plant is as follows:

MonthSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Demand (in units)80006500105009500

The organization has ONLY the following options available for aggregate planning to meet the demand: (1) in-house production, (2) subcontracting, and (3) inventory holding. Assume that the quantity subcontracted in a given month is available in the same month.

A part of their optimal solution is as follows:
Inventory at the end of October = 1500 units
Units produced in-house in November = 8000 units
Units subcontracted in November = 1000 units

The inventory at the end of November is ______ units (in integer).

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Add opening stock, in-house production and subcontracted units for November, then subtract November's demand to get the closing stock.
Updated On: Aug 3, 2026
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Correct Answer: 0

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is an inventory balancing question from aggregate planning.
Every month, whatever is available to sell (opening stock plus whatever is made or bought that month) must cover the demand of that month, and anything left over becomes the closing stock.
We are asked to find the closing stock for November.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Instead of adding everything up first, we can look at it as a gap between demand and fresh supply, and then adjust the opening stock by that gap:
\[ \text{Ending Inventory} = \text{Beginning Inventory} - (\text{Demand} - \text{Production} - \text{Subcontracting}) \]

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
For November: opening stock (carried over from October) = 1500 units, in-house production = 8000 units, subcontracted quantity = 1000 units, and demand = 10500 units (read from the table).
First find the gap between demand and what is freshly produced or subcontracted this month:
\[ \text{Gap} = 10500 - (8000 + 1000) = 10500 - 9000 = 1500 \text{ units} \]
This gap of 1500 units has to be met from the opening stock.
\[ \text{Ending Inventory} = 1500 - 1500 = 0 \text{ units} \]

Final Answer:
Since the opening stock of 1500 units exactly covers the demand gap, nothing is left over at the end of November. \[ \boxed{0} \]
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