Lean Manufacturing & Operations worked example
Kanban Card Quantity with daily demand of 50 units/day: a worked example
Suppose daily demand falls to 50 units/day. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Calculate the number of kanban cards needed using demand rate, replenishment lead time, container size, and a safety factor.
The inputs for this scenario
- Daily demand: 50 units/day (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 100)
- Replenishment lead time: 2 days (held at the documented default)
- Safety factor (1 + safety %): 1.1 x (held at the documented default)
Working through the calculation
- The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Kanban Cards = Daily Demand x Lead Time x Safety Factor (then divide by container qty separately).
- Total kanban inventory (units) works out to 110 cards at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
- Base product works out to 110 value at these inputs.
- Multiplier works out to 1 x at these inputs.
- Factor A x B works out to 100 value at these inputs.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where daily demand sits at 100 units/day and the headline result is 220 cards, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 110 cards.
- It multiplies daily demand by replenishment lead time and a safety factor to give the total kanban inventory in units. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.
Results at a glance
- Total kanban inventory (units): 110 cards (headline result)
- Base product: 110 value
- Multiplier: 1 x
- Factor A x B: 100 value
Run it with your numbers
- To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Kanban Card Quantity calculator, set daily demand to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.