3 Best Online Lead Time Calculators
What is a Lead Time Calculator?
A lead time calculator is simply a calculator that helps with production planning by estimating the time it takes for an order to arrive. If you have a company and looking to see how fast your customers are served, a lead time calculator is the perfect tool.
What Does a Lead Time Calculator Do?
Any business that involves ordering and delivery of something (products/services) can benefit from having a lead time calculator. The calculator provides the average time it takes for an order to be processed. The calculator can account for many processes like product manufacturing, testing, inspection, and shipping (via air or water) that may be required to get a product/service to the end user.
Lead time is an important concept in production planning, especially when assessing cost and optimizing processes. It’s worth noting that the term lead time can vary depending on specific elements in a supply chain.
For instance, material lead time can refer to the time taken for raw materials to reach a factory. Production lead time is the time taken for a factory to get orders to produce and deliver the finished goods. Customer lead time refers to the time it takes from when a customer orders something to when they receive it.
3 Best Online Lead Time Calculators
There’s no shortage of online lead time calculators for calculating different aspects of lead times across a variety of industries. However, this shouldn’t be mistaken to mean that all tools are great. Some tools work better than others. Examples of simple free online lead time calculators include, but aren’t limited to;
Binary Translator
This simple online lead time calculator estimates time taken to do simple binary code translations. Binary Translator calculates time needed to convert a specified text into binary code (or vice versa) based on the processing power of the computing device being used and length of input text.
The calculator accounts for variables like time needed to transfer data between website servers and users and the time it takes servers to complete conversion. Binarytranslator is a useful online lead time tool for people and businesses that need to plan for binary code translations and ensure such tasks are completed within a specified time frame.
Online Components
The Online Components lead time calculator makes it easy to discover how long it takes for an order to reach a specified destination. The calculator can perform two main calculations. For instance, if you input the current date of dispatch and variables like manufacturing time and shipping time, you can get a precise lead time.
The lead time calculator also shows the precise time you need to order things if you input a specified period when you need to have certain goods ready for the market. The tool calculates lead time faster than traditional methods.
ESP International
ESP International is another simple online lead time tool for calculating the time needed to make custom electronic components. The tool estimates the time required for producing and delivering electronic components using input variables like the quantity of products required, complexity of product, and availability of raw materials.
The calculator uses data on production processes, supplier delivery timelines, and shipping logistics to provide timelines for production, testing components, and shipping. Espint is particularly useful to businesses that require custom electrical components as part of business. The tool helps to plan manufacturing schedules and shipping/delivery dates, allowing a business to meet demand for unique custom components on time. Espint lead time calculator also helps to simplify the process and timelines for making custom electronic components and offer clarity on manufacturing requirements.
Factors Impacting Lead Time Calculation
When considering lead time as the time it takes for a customer to place and receive an order or the time taken from when manufacturers receive an order to when they fulfill it, there are several factors that dictate timelines.
Generally, lead time begins with an internal manufacturing order. Once an order is issued, lead time commences and ends when that order is completed. There are many lead time elements that may be ignored in the process. Here are the main factors dictating lead time calculation.
- Manufacturing time: This is arguably the most important element of lead time calculation. It covers the necessary steps (mechanical processes) that create value i.e., component machining, assembly of modules, generation of invoices, etc.
- Set-up time: This element is closely linked to manufacturing time. It refers to the time taken to setup different machines for manufacturing different products. Set-up time accounts for the steps required to prepare a workplace and machines for production.
III. Transportation time: Transport time also needs to be accounted for when calculating lead time. Every manufacturing process has a transport element i.e., the time taken to move raw materials and finished goods between workplaces, factories, and departments. The estimated delivery time is part of transportation lead time.
- Storage time: Generally, there is an element of waiting time when coordinating manufacturing processes. It takes time to form manufacturing batches and transport batches. It also takes time to separate manufacturing and assembly processes. While efficient production processes may synchronize manufacturing with delivery of finished products, storage time is inevitable and must be factored in.
- Admin time: Lastly, lead time is also affected by administrative time or the processes that must be organized. Admin time is taken up by human capital. There are unavoidable delays, the need for additional coordination, and communication errors that take unnecessary time and must therefore be accounted for.
Components of Lead Time
As mentioned, lead time can be categorized into three main stages, with each stage being a critical part of the overall process. The main lead time components include;
I. Material Order Time
This is the time taken for a manufacturer to order and receive the raw materials required for a manufacturing process to begin.
II. Production Time
This refers to the time taken for a manufacturer to produce goods and get them ready for delivery to a fulfillment center.
III. Consumer Lead Time
This refers to the time taken for a customer to place an order and receive it. Customer lead time represents the time taken from ordering something i.e., from an eCommerce store, to when such an order is fulfilled i.e., shipped and delivered to a customer by FedEx, UPS, etc.
Calculating Lead Time
In manufacturing, calculating total lead time helps in many factors, including managing inventory. Lead time affects several factors, from overall operational efficiency to customer satisfaction. You must understand how to calculate current lead time to plan better and/or improve operations.
Calculating lead time is easy. Simply add time taken on every stage of production. For instance;
Lead Time = Material Order Time + Production + Customer Lead Time
Other factors also need to be considered. They include, but aren’t limited to;
- Stockouts: Running out of stock will affect many elements of a supply chain. If you can’t secure raw materials, you can’t begin production in time. This is particularly true for manufacturers who don’t hold their own inventory ready to use it on demand. In fact, miscalculating lead time can cause a stockout.
- Lead time variables: Sometimes, it’s impossible to predict with accuracy how much time it takes to deliver because lead time will vary depending on factors like suppliers. If one supplier fails to deliver part of the required bill of materials in time, a production delay is inevitable if production is dependent on many suppliers. Lead time variables such as supplier delays can be avoided by consolidating suppliers, which ensures you get everything you want for production at a precise time.
- Shipping delays: Shipping delays may be inevitable. They are usually caused by many factors ranging from natural disasters to human error. It’s impossible to eliminate shipping delays completely. However, they can be reduced by having proactive fulfillment solutions that provide a workaround in case of shipping issues.
- Redundant internal processes: Some internal processes can increase lead time. For instance, it will take longer to process orders if you do everything internally. It may be better to outsource some processes like pre-assembly to reduce production time. Having inefficient controls or poor inventory management may also be to blame. Returns, via the RMA return process can also take considerable time.
Mismanaging inventory is disastrous. Poor methods of tracking inventory may also bring forth other problems, such as an inability to know when you should order new products. A thorough audit of internal processes is required to optimize lead time.
Time can be affected by a variety of factors, the most notable being the complexity of a product/service, raw material availability, no. of production steps, availability of machinery & labor, as well as the size of an order.
A long lead time is bad for business but good for competitors. Consumers want products/services as fast as possible without compromising on anything, including quality. A bad lead time translates to lost business. The importance of optimizing lead time can’t, therefore, be overlooked.
Limitations of Online Lead Time Calculators
There’s no denying the importance of online lead time calculators for manufacturers. The calculators help in determining how long it takes to produce and deliver products to end customers. However, online lead time calculators have their own limitations that manufacturers must understand. Below are some of these limitations and how manufacturers are expected to overcome them.
The first limitation of online lead time calculators is the highly dynamic nature of manufacturing environments. Manufacturing plants are unique environments with many factors dictating production lead time. Most importantly, different manufacturing plants can have different factors in play. depending on whatever is being made. Factors such as production volume changes, raw material availability changes, machine performance changes, and labor availability changes stand out the most and make it difficult for online lead time calculators to give up-to-date or accurate timelines constantly.
Dealing With the Limitation
This limitation can be dealt with by having a system that responds in real time to any of the above and other changes. A typical example would be a modern production and scheduling system that can be integrated with other systems (i.e., MES, MRP, and ERP systems) to offer real-time production volume data, among other critical data like raw material availability, labor availability, and machine performance data. The resulting data can be used to automatically adjust lead time and ensure there is real-time accurate data at all times.
Example: How a Single Factor Impacts Lead Time Calculations
To understand in-depth how the dynamic nature of manufacturing processes can alter lead time calculations, here’s an example. Assuming a manufacturer uses online lead time calculators for determining lead time for one specific product, and the calculator establishes the lead time as a week based on several factors like raw material availability and current production volume.
However, in three days, the manufacturer gets a new order for the same product increasing production volume in the process. If there is a delay in delivering raw materials i.e., because there isn’t enough raw materials currently to absorb the new production volume, chances are the lead time will be impacted negatively.
The same applies to a manufacturer getting a new order without having the personnel to process that order. If there are delays in hiring new personnel or redeploying workers to handle the new order, lead time will obviously increase. Redeploying workers may cause delays in other processes and an online lead time calculator won’t be able to factor in such changes.
On the contrary, modern production and scheduling systems can account for such changes automatically in real-time. They are integrated with other systems like MRP, ERP AND MES to identify alternative sources for raw materials or adjust production schedules to cater to raw material delivery delays among other changes. This will ensure lead time calculations are accurate at all times.
In summary, online lead time calculators have notable benefits to manufacturers. However, their limitations can’t be overlooked. The nature of manufacturing environments today impacts lead time calculations and poses challenges in offering accurate information. This limitation can be overcome by using modern production planning & scheduling systems that respond to real-time changes in manufacturing environments.
Doing so ensures lead time calculation adjusts accordingly with every changing variable. Manufacturers are, therefore, able to meet customer expectations accurately in real time and maintain a competitive advantage.
