ERP & MRP Planning worked example

Purchase Order Cycle Time with requisition and approval time of 1 days: a worked example

Suppose requisition and approval time falls to 1 days. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate purchase order cycle time from approval, supplier confirmation, transit, and receiving release time.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Requisition and approval time: 1 days (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 2)
  • Supplier confirmation and production time: 12 days (held at the documented default)
  • Transit and customs time: 5 days (held at the documented default)
  • Receiving and inspection release time: 2 days (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: PO cycle time = approval time + supplier confirmation/production time + transit time + receiving/inspection release time.
  • Purchase order cycle time works out to 20 days at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Requisition and approval time works out to 1 days at these inputs.
  • Supplier confirmation and production time works out to 12 days at these inputs.
  • Transit, receiving, and release time works out to 7 days at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where requisition and approval time sits at 2 days and the headline result is 21 days, this scenario comes in 4.76% below the baseline at 20 days.
  • It sums the four PO stages, including requisition and approval, supplier confirmation and production, transit and customs, and receiving and inspection release, into a total cycle time in days. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Purchase order cycle time: 20 days (headline result)
  • Requisition and approval time: 1 days
  • Supplier confirmation and production time: 12 days
  • Transit, receiving, and release time: 7 days

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Purchase Order Cycle Time calculator, set requisition and approval time to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.