Total order cycle time calculator
Average hours from order placed to order delivered.
Formula
Average cycle time = total elapsed hours across all orders ÷ number of orders
Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Total order cycle time
72.0
average hours per order
Worked example
43,200 elapsed hours across 600 orders averages 72.0 hours per order — three days from the customer placing the order to the goods landing. Warehouse dashboards usually clock only the hours inside the four walls, which is why this figure surprises people.
When you reach for this
The end-to-end clock a retail buyer feels, covering the queue before the pick as well as the transit after it. Warehouse dashboards usually time only the middle.
How to read the number
Track the spread as well as the average. A good mean hiding a long tail is what produces the handful of very late orders that draw penalties, and averages alone will never surface them.
Metrics that travel with it
Questions operators ask about this metric
When does the clock start?
At order receipt, not at release to the floor. The queue before the pick is time the customer waits through, and it is the segment internal reporting most often leaves out.
Should I report the mean or the median?
Report both. The mean lands on the scorecard; the median tells you what a typical order experiences. A wide gap between them means a long tail worth chasing.
How does cycle time differ from lead time?
Lead time is what you quote. Cycle time is what you deliver. The gap between them is the number worth managing, and the one your buyer will raise.
Do weekends count in the elapsed hours?
Yes, and the customer counts them too. Report business hours only if you must, but label it plainly, because the retailer measures calendar time.
Stop calculating this by hand
Every number on this page comes out of data you already have — orders, shipments, inventory, deductions. Endless keeps those in one source of truth instead of four exports, so the metric updates on its own and agents watch it for you.