Throughput

Throughput is not what the process can do, that’s capacity. Throughput is what it actually does. If demand is low, throughput is low even though capacity is available. If demand is high, throughput rises until it hits the capacity ceiling.

Throughput is the smallest of capacity, supply, or demand. The process produces whichever is the limiting factor.

Formula

Th = MIN(Process Capacity, Input Rate)

If throughput exceeds capacity, the excess goes into queues, it doesn’t get processed.

Example

A call centre can handle 50 calls per hour (capacity). On a quiet morning, only 30 calls come in (demand). Throughput = 30. In the afternoon, 65 calls come in. Throughput = 50 (capacity-limited). The remaining 15 callers per hour are queued.

Why It Matters

Throughput is the actual output of your process, it drives revenue, cost per unit, and customer experience. Capacity utilization is derived from throughput (utilization = throughput / capacity). When throughput equals capacity, the process is at its limit. When throughput consistently exceeds capacity, backlogs grow and wait times increase.