41 C.F.R. § 101-27.405
Inactive items, items which no longer qualify as standby, and slow-moving items which are readily available, when needed, from Government or commercial sources shall be eliminated from inventory. The determination of a slow-moving item shall be based on a comparison of the costs for continuing to maintain it in stock as opposed to the costs for ordering it from outside sources each time it is requested. This comparison shall also consider any difference in price and transportation costs for each alternative. In the absence of criteria for stockage of an item developed and used by an agency, the desired results will be obtained through application of the following table:
| Orders per year under economic order quantity (EOQ) | Minimum number of requests per year to justify continuation in stock |
| 12 and over | 24 |
| 11 | 22 |
| 10 | 20 |
| 9 | 18 |
| 8 | 16 |
| 7 | 14 |
| 6 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 3 and under | 7 |
NOTE: Except for the low dollar infrequently ordered item, which requires a higher minimum, an item should be discontinued from stock if the number of requests for it is less than twice its order frequency under EOQ. For example, an item ordered six times per year under EOQ should have at least 12 requests per year to continue stockage. For 11 requests, it would cost less to order each time it was requested.
| 11 orders at $5 per order | $55 |
| Under EOQ: | |
| 6 orders at $5 per order | $30 |
| Holding cost (equal to ordering cost) | 30 |
| Total | 60 |
41 C.F.R. §101-27.405