M365Con 2027 – gratis online conferentie · 11–22 Jan 2027 · 120 sessions→ m365con.net

Lead time

Concept

The total time from the start of an order or part until it is finished, including all waiting. In most plants, waiting makes up far more of it than actual work.

✦ CONCEPTLead timeM365.FM
Title graphic: Lead time (Concept)

Beschrijving

Lead time, in German Durchlaufzeit, is the full time a part or order needs to move through a process, from start to finish. It includes processing, but also queues, transport, inspection and every other wait. Seen from the customer, lead time can also mean the time from order to delivery.

In many plants, most of the lead time is waiting, not work. That is why lead time is a key figure on a value stream map, shown next to the processing time of each step. Shortening it usually means reducing queues and work in progress, smaller batches and a steadier flow. Little's law, a rule from queueing theory, links the three: work in progress equals throughput times lead time.

TypeConcept
Ook bekend alsDurchlaufzeit, Production lead time, Throughput time, Lieferzeit

Articles about Lead time (8)

Lead timeiFAKT GmbHRelated toCycle timeRelated toWork in progress (W…Related toValue stream mappingRelated to8 wastes of leanRelated toPolaris VSMRelated toBatch sizeRelated to
Relationship map of Lead time: linked topics

Related to

Woordenlijst

Community wiki

Short info above, community knowledge below: add practical tips, examples or corrections. New contributions are reviewed first; trusted members publish directly.

Experts en bedrijven voor dit onderwerp

Sources

Maintained by Mirko Peters (Microsoft MVP) · Last updated: