Ankomsttakt

Ankomsttakt, often translated as arrival rate, is a term used in production planning and logistics to describe the rate at which items arrive to a particular process, work center, or production line. It is typically expressed as units per hour or kilograms per hour and can be constant or variable over time.

In practice, ankomsttakt is tracked to ensure that the downstream capacity can handle incoming work. It can be measured through observed interarrival times or aggregated over a period to yield an average arrival rate. In many settings arrivals follow stochastic patterns and are modeled with Poisson or other distributions, with variability described by the coefficient of variation. Large fluctuations may require buffers, capacity adjustments, or scheduling changes.

The concept is closely related to takt time, but not identical. Takt time is the rate at which the final product must be completed to meet demand, whereas ankomsttakt concerns the inflow of work into a process. If the ankomsttakt exceeds processing rate, work-in-progress or queues grow; if it falls short, underutilization occurs. Line balancing and buffer management rely on understanding both rates.

Applications include production line design, Kanban systems, supplier integration, and capacity planning. Ankomsttakt can be influenced by supplier reliability, shipment frequencies, and internal changeovers. Managing it involves leveling inflows, smoothing demand, and aligning it with takt time and available capacity.