A small beekeeping business doesn't need enterprise resource-planning software — but
it does need to answer one recurring question: when should I reorder frames,
foundation, jars and lids before I run out? This scene models that with a
classic (Q, R) reorder-point system: stock drains continuously as jars
are sold, and whenever it falls to the reorder point R, a fixed order of
size Q is placed with the supplier. The order arrives — and the silo
refills — only after the supplier's lead time has passed.
The amber silo in the centre is your inventory. A supplier truck sets out from the depot on the left the instant an order is triggered, and small crates continuously leave the silo toward the market stall on the right as jars sell. The gold ring marks your reorder point, and the scrolling graph behind the silo plots stock on hand over simulated time — the classic inventory "sawtooth."
R, an order for Q units is placed automatically (if none is already outstanding).Q — after the supplier lead time elapses.R, stock can hit zero before the delivery arrives: a stockout, tracked in the readout below.Most small UK apiary businesses don't need formal EOQ (economic order quantity) formulas — but even informally choosing a reorder point that covers demand during the slowest realistic delivery, rather than reordering "whenever you remember," is enough to avoid the classic small-business trap of running out of jars mid-harvest.
A live 3D reorder-point inventory model for a small UK beekeeping business: watch an amber stock silo drain as jars sell, trigger automatic supplier orders, and see delivery trucks and a scrolling sawtooth chart respond to your settings.
A classic (Q, R) reorder-point inventory system: stock drains at the demand rate, and once it falls to the reorder point R a fixed order of size Q is placed, arriving only after the supplier's lead time — sometimes too late to avoid a stockout.
Set weekly demand, order quantity, supplier lead time and reorder point. Watch the silo level, the gold reorder ring, the supplier truck and the scrolling stock chart respond, and track stockout time in the readout.
Small apiary businesses rarely need formal EOQ formulas — but simply setting a reorder point that covers demand during the slowest realistic delivery is usually enough to avoid running out of jars mid-harvest.