Teams & projects
Lead time calculator
Pick the date the order was placed and the date it was delivered, then say how many days were actual work, to see where the lead time really goes.
Value-add days are the days work was actively happening; everything else is treated as waiting in a queue.
How lead time is calculated
Lead time is the whole elapsed time a customer waits, measured from the moment an order or request is placed to the moment it is delivered. The calculator takes the two calendar dates and counts the days between them, then counts how many of those fall on a weekday to give working days. It also splits the total into value-add days, the days real work happened, and waiting days, the days the job sat in a queue. A request placed on the 1st and delivered on the 15th has a 14-day lead time; if only 3 of those days were active work, 11 days were waiting.
The share of value-add work is called flow efficiency: value-add days divided by total lead time. In the example that is 3 ÷ 14 = 21%. Lead time differs from cycle time, which usually starts the clock only when work begins, so lead time is always equal to or longer than cycle time.
| Total lead time | Value-add days | Waiting days | Flow efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 2 | 3 | 40% |
| 10 days | 3 | 7 | 30% |
| 14 days | 3 | 11 | 21% |
| 30 days | 4 | 26 | 13% |
Reading the result
Flow efficiency is often a surprise. Many teams measuring it for the first time find real work is only 5–15% of the lead time, with the rest spent in handoffs, approvals and queues. That is not necessarily a failure: it simply shows that speeding delivery usually means removing waiting, not working faster. Shortening a queue by two days helps the customer exactly as much as finishing the work two days sooner, and is often far easier.
Use the value-add figure as a rough estimate of touch time rather than a precise log. If the delivery date lands before the order date, the result is undefined and the calculator asks you to fix the dates. For manufacturing or purchasing, lead time often also includes supplier and shipping time, so record the date the request left your hands, not the date you started working on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lead time and cycle time?
Lead time counts from when the order is placed; cycle time counts from when work actually starts. Lead time therefore includes any initial queue, so it is always equal to or longer than cycle time.
Should lead time use calendar days or working days?
Customers experience calendar days, so quote lead time in calendar days. Working days are useful for internal planning because they match when your team is available to move the job forward.
What is a good flow efficiency?
There is no single target, but many knowledge-work teams sit at 5–15% when they first measure it. Rising flow efficiency means less time wasted in queues and handoffs relative to the total lead time.