Flow

Throughput

The rate at which a system produces finished, sellable output — ultimately limited by the bottleneck.

Throughput is the rate at which a process generates finished output (and, in TOC terms, money through sales). It is capped by the bottleneck: the system can run no faster than its slowest constrained resource.

Throughput links to inventory and lead time through Little's Law (WIP = Throughput × Lead Time) and is the primary improvement target of the Theory of Constraints.

Go Deeper
Throughput Calculator→Theory of Constraints guide→
Related Terms
Bottleneck
The process step with the lowest capacity, which sets the maximum throughput of the entire system.
Little's Law
A fundamental relationship: WIP = Throughput × Lead Time, explaining why cutting WIP shortens lead time.
Lead Time
The total elapsed time from order (or raw material) to delivery (or finished product), including all waiting.
WIP
Inventory that has entered production but is not yet finished — the lever that controls lead time via Little's Law.
Theory of Constraints
A management philosophy that every system has one constraint limiting it, and improvement means managing that constraint.

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