Takt time represents the rate of production necessary required to meet customer demand. It is typically calculated dividing the available production time available by the projected demand for a given product. This acts as an optimal production tempo for fulfilling customer orders.
Cycle time refers to the time required to complete a single unit of a product. This time interval starts from the initial stage of production and concludes when the product is fully manufactured. Cycle time can be equivalent to takt time; if the cycle time exceeds takt time, the production system can manage to fulfill demand Lean Manufacturing or orders. However, if cycle time is greater than the takt time, there exists a discrepancy between customer orders and actual production output.
