How to Calculate Average Turnaround Time (Calculator)
Average turnaround time is the total elapsed time across a set of orders or quotes divided by the number of items. The real question is where the clock starts and stops, including whether shipping counts. This calculator reports both versions so you can pick one and state it clearly.
Your numbers
Count of completed items in the period.
Sum of days from request or order received to ready to ship (or quote sent).
Sum of days in transit. Use 0 for quotes.
Your results
Definitions vary by company and contract. State your definition next to the figure whenever you report it.
Door-to-door time as shipping days grow
Sweeps Total shipping days (all items) from 0 to 1500, holding your other inputs fixed.
Measure turnaround straight from your ERP
Optional: we look at which date fields your ERP holds and how a turnaround report could be built from them.
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The formula
Average turnaround time equals the sum of each item's elapsed time divided by the number of items. For each order, elapsed time is the stop date minus the start date. For quotes, start is the request received and stop is the quote sent. For orders, start is the order received and stop is either ready to ship or delivered. Add the elapsed days across all items and divide by the count. Use completed items only, otherwise unfinished work makes the average look better than it is.
- Start: request or order received
- Stop: quote sent, ready to ship, or delivered
- Use completed items in the period
- State calendar or working days
Does turnaround time include shipping?
It depends on who is asking. Internally, operations teams usually measure to ready to ship, because they control that time. Customers feel door to door, so customer-facing promises and service level agreements often include transit. Neither is wrong, but mixing them makes comparisons meaningless. Report both: processing time for internal improvement and door-to-door for the customer view. For quotes, shipping is irrelevant, so set transit to zero.
Reading the result
Compare the reported average to your target and look at the share of time spent shipping. If most of the door-to-door time is transit, improving the shop floor will not move the customer's experience; carrier or location changes will. An average also hides spread, so pair it with the percentage of items delivered within target and the longest 10 percent. A turnaround of nine days average can hide a tail of thirty-day orders.
- Track on-time share next to the average
- Look at the slowest tail, not only the mean
- Watch the trend by month and by product family
Getting the data from your ERP
Most ERPs hold both dates: order or request received and the ship or quote-sent date. Export those for completed items, calculate the difference in days per line, and feed the totals into the calculator. Keep one agreed definition in the report header. Beware of orders put on hold or changed after entry, which add days that were not under the shop's control. Decide whether to exclude them and apply the rule consistently.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate average turnaround time?
Subtract the start date from the stop date for each completed item, add the results, and divide by the number of items. Use the same start and stop definitions every period and state whether you use calendar or working days.
Does turnaround time include shipping?
Not always. Internal metrics usually stop at ready to ship, while customer-facing figures often include transit. Report both and label them, so nobody compares a door-to-door number with a ready-to-ship number.
What is a good average quote turnaround time?
It varies widely by product complexity. Simple repeat quotes can be same day, while engineered quotes take days or weeks. Set a target by quote type and track the share answered within that target, not only the average.
How is turnaround time different from lead time?
Turnaround time usually measures how long a request or order takes to complete after it is received. Lead time is more often the quoted or planned time for supply or production. The two overlap, so define each term where you use it.
If the dates you need are spread across quoting, order entry and shipping screens, we can help you build a private assistant that calculates turnaround by product family straight from your ERP, on your own servers.
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