Cycle time is the total time it takes to complete a process or task from start to finish.

Primary Implication

Fail to deliver the product or service when people tell you they want it means they are likely to go to the business that will give it to them when they want it. The have it when I want it mentality means you need to either maintain sufficient inventory to meet demand or be able to create the product or deliver the service when wanted.  Fail to do this and people are most likely to go someplace else to get what they want when they want it.

Overview

The Six Sigma definition of Cycle Time is the total elapsed time to move a unit of work from the beginning to the end of a physical process.

The better definition of Cycle Time is the measure of your “get work done” process efficiency.  Cycle time starts when the actual work begins on the unit and ends when it is ready to be delivered and invoiced.  It consists of waiting, setup, real operating, and post-processing times.  Cycle time matters to every business because process time costs money.  Put another way, delays in completing a process step introduce the increased probability of a mistake, let alone delay an output that is waiting to take the next action.

Cycle Time also significantly affects your Customer Loyalty, Employee Engagement, Cash Flow from Operations, and profits.  Failure to know your ideal cycle time robs you of a critical data point that will tell you when your processes are in and out of control.

Lead time is not Cycle Time. Lead time represents the time required from the initial order receipt to order delivery.  It is a measure of your operation responsiveness from your customer’s perspective.  While this, too is important, what matters is the time to convert an order to a delivered solution so you get paid.