Integral Logistics Management — Operations Management and Supply Chain Management Within and Across Companies

13.1.4 Administrative Time

Intended learning outcomes: Describe the need and the various kinds of administrative time.



Administrative time is the time needed to release and complete an order (see definition in Section 1.2.3).

Administrative time at the beginning of an order is required for order release. This comprises availability control, decision making as to type of procurement, and the preparation time that the production or purchasing office needs for the order. It is also a lead time for the data or control flow (i.e., without flow of goods).

Buffer times added to this administrative time wherever possible will serve to control fluctuations in the effective loads of work centers. This will keep the capital-intensive lead time for goods as short as possible. Schedulers can use the play resulting from this buffer to move the entire order forward or backward on the time axis, according to the load of the work centers at the time of order release.

In addition, schedulers should plan administrative time for coordination purposes for each partial order. This time can also include a “normal” stock issue time for components, as long as it has not already been accounted for in the routing sheet as an independent operation, called “stock issue,” for example.

Similarly, at the end of each partial order, there is administrative time that generally includes time to place the completed order in stock or to prepare it for shipping. This time may also include a “normal” control time, provided that schedulers do not want to account for this in the routing sheet as an independent operation, called “final control,” for example.




Course section 13.1: Subsections and their intended learning outcomes

  • 13.1.4 Administrative Time

    Intended learning outcomes: Describe the need and the various kinds of administrative time.

  • 13.1.5 Transportation Time

    Intended learning outcomes: Explain the transportation times matrix. Disclose a robust approximation of transportation time.