double. They jump from four cases to eight. That's all right, you figure; you have an
eight-case surplus in your store. You don't know why they've sold so much more
suddenly. Maybe someone is having a party. But to replace those extra cases, you raise
your order to eight. That will bring your inventory back to normal.
Week 3: Strangely enough, you also sell eight cases of Lover's Beer the next week.
And it's not even spring break. Every once in a while, in those rare moments between
sales, you briefly ponder the reason why. There's no advertising campaign for the
beer; you would have received a mailing about it. Unless the mailing got lost, or you
accidentally threw it out. Or maybe there's another reason . . . but a customer comes in,
and you lose your train of thought.
At the moment the deliveryman comes, you're still not thinking much about Lover's
Beer, but you look down at your sheet and see that he's brought only four cases this time. (It's
from the order you placed four weeks ago.) You only have four cases left in stock, which means—
unless there's a drop-back in sales—you're going to sell out all your Lover's Beer this week.
Prudence dictates an order of at least eight cases to keep up with sales. Just to be on the safe
side, you order twelve so you can rebuild your inventory.
Week 4: You find time on Tuesday to quiz one or two of your younger customers. It turns
out that a new music video appeared a month or so back on the popular cable television
channels. The video's recording group, the Iconoclasts, closes their song with the line, "I take
one last sip of Lover's Beer and run into the sun." You don't know why they used that line, but
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your wholesaler would have told you if there was any new merchandising deal. You think of
calling the wholesaler, but a delivery of potato chips arrives and the subject of Lover's Beer slips
your mind.
When your next delivery of beer comes in, only five cases of beer arrive. You're chagrined now
because you have only one case in stock. You're almost sold out. And thanks to this vide