Newsvendor Model

The Newsvendor Model is a single-period stochastic inventory optimization framework that determines the profit-maximizing order quantity when demand is uncertain and unsold units cannot be carried forward. Formally introduced by Arrow, Harris, and Marschak (1951) in their foundational work on optimal inventory policy, the model balances the cost of ordering too much (overage) against the cost of ordering too little (underage) to yield a closed-form optimality condition known as the critical ratio.