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International Trade vocabulary · Quotations and Orders

Lead time

Meaning in international trade, with examples

/ˈliːd ˌtaɪm/nounCore term

In international trade, lead time means: The time between placing an order and receiving the goods, or between the order and the goods being ready for shipment.

In Turkish: teslim süresi, termin süresi, tedarik süresi

How it is used

Asked in nearly every RFQ: 'What is your lead time?' Sellers usually give it in days or weeks from the order or from receipt of the advance payment. Production lead time and transit time are often quoted separately.

Example sentences

  1. Our current lead time is six weeks from receipt of the advance payment.

  2. The customer wants us to shorten the lead time to four weeks.

Common collocations

  • production lead time
  • shorten the lead time
  • lead time of six weeks
  • long lead time
  • quotationA written statement from a seller giving the price, quantity, delivery and payment conditions for goods a buyer is interested in.
  • purchase orderA document a buyer sends to a supplier to order goods officially, listing the items, quantities, prices and delivery terms.
  • order confirmationA document or message from the seller accepting a buyer's order and repeating the agreed products, prices, delivery date and terms.
  • ETAEstimated Time of Arrival: the date and time when a ship, plane, truck or shipment is expected to arrive.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Quotations and Orders

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