Lean Supply Chain Management Essentials

130 Lean suppLy ChaIn ManageMent essentIaLs

sizing, which typically tries to balance the cost of inventory with the cost of placing

an order (including setup).

An Example: Murphy’s Toys Trim Data

Cycle time: 1) In industrial engineering, the time between completion of two discrete

units of production. For example, the cycle time of motors assembled at a rate of 120 per

hour would be 30 seconds. 2) In materials management, it refers to the length of time from

when material enters a production facility until it exits. Syn. roughput time.

—APICS Dictionary, 8th edition

For our purposes, we will use the industrial engineering definition any time you ...