The classification of a group of items in decreasing order of annual dollar volume (price multiplied by projected volume) or other criteria. This array is then split into three classes, called A, B, and C. The A group usually represents 10 percent to 20 percent by number of items and 50 percent to 70 percent by projected dollar volume. The next grouping, B, usually represents about 20 percent of the items and about 20 percent of the dollar volume. The C class contains about 50 percent of the items and represents about 10 percent to 30 percent of the dollar volume. The ABC principle states that effort and money can be saved through applying looser controls to the low-dollar-volume class items than to the high-dollar-volume class items. The ABC principle is applicable to inventories, purchasing, and sales. Syns.: ABC analysis, distribution by value. See: 80-20 rule, classification, Pareto analysis, Pareto’s law.