Planning tool
Capacity & throughput planner
Enter the product, the annual output you need, your shift model and your indicative budget. The planner converts it into the nominal machine rate a manufacturer has to design for, and writes a structured RFQ brief you can copy, download or send to a real person for review. Indicative planning only — not an engineering design, a quotation, a performance guarantee or a financing approval.
Planner inputs and results
Inputs
Required capacity
- Nominal machine rate
- 7,111 units/h
- Effective rate needed
- 5,333 units/h
- Output per shift
- 40,000 units
- Output per operating day
- 80,000 units
- Net run hours per year
- 3,750 h
Inputs, assumptions and limitations: the nominal rate is your annual target divided by net run hours and by expected OEE. It excludes line balancing, buffer sizing, seasonal peaks, product mix and ramp-up. Confirm with engineering and with the manufacturer before ordering.
Your structured RFQ brief
This is the text manufacturers need in order to quote comparably. Copy it into your own RFQ, download it, or send it to a real person on WhatsApp — product, capacity, shift model, budget and country travel with it.
STRUCTURED RFQ BRIEF — CAPACITY & THROUGHPUT Prepared with the Global B2B Group Capacity & Throughput Planner (https://globalb2bgroup.com/capacity-throughput-planner) 1. PRODUCT AND SCOPE Product to be produced: [to be confirmed] Project scope: Complete processing line Country / project location: [to be confirmed] 2. REQUIRED CAPACITY Target annual output: 20,000,000 units/year Output per operating day: 80,000 units Output per shift: 40,000 units Required effective rate: 5,333 units/hour (net of changeovers) Required nominal machine rate: 7,111 units/hour at 75% OEE 3. SHIFT MODEL Hours per shift: 8 Shifts per day: 2 Operating days per year: 250 Gross scheduled hours: 4,000 h/year Changeover / cleaning allowance: 30 min per shift (250 h/year) Net run hours: 3,750 h/year Assumed OEE: 75% 4. COMMERCIAL FRAME Indicative budget: [to be confirmed] Target timeline: [to be confirmed] 5. STILL TO BE CONFIRMED BEFORE QUOTATION - Input materials, formats and output specification - Process steps and equipment scope, including interfaces to existing lines - Automation, quality, traceability and safety requirements - Site, building, utilities, energy and environmental constraints - Installation, commissioning, training and maintenance expectations - Compliance, approvals, tender or public-procurement constraints - Acceptance criteria: FAT and SAT, measurement method, sample period, tolerances NOTE: Capacity figures are indicative planning outputs derived from the buyer's own assumptions. They are not an engineering design, a supplier quotation, a performance guarantee or a financing approval.
Serious project review, supplier routing and financing-pathway discussion generally start from an expected total project value of USD 250,000. Buyers are never automatically connected to a manufacturer or supplier: David and the human team review qualifying projects before any appropriate external routing.
Capacity planning questions
How do I calculate the required capacity of a production line?
Take the output you must sell per year, divide it by your operating days and shifts, then divide again by the realistic hours per shift and by expected OEE. The result is the nominal rate per hour a manufacturer must design for. Quoting nominal rate without stating OEE, changeovers and shift model is the most common reason quotations are not comparable.
What is OEE and why does it change the machine specification?
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) combines availability, performance and quality. A line rated at 1,000 units per hour running at 75% OEE delivers 750 sellable units per hour. Manufacturers must know which of the two figures your contract capacity refers to, because it changes the machine size, buffers and price.
What does a structured RFQ brief contain?
Product and market, required capacity and shift model, inputs and outputs, process steps and equipment scope, automation and quality requirements, site and utilities, installation and service, budget and timeline, compliance constraints, open assumptions, and FAT/SAT acceptance criteria.
Is the budget figure a quotation?
No. The planner records your own indicative budget so manufacturers can size a realistic scope. It is planning input only — not a price, a quotation, a performance guarantee or a financing approval.
What is the minimum project size for human review?
Formal project review, supplier routing and financing-pathway discussion generally start from an expected total project value of USD 250,000. Below that the planner and the guidance stay available, but no formal review is promised.
Does Global B2B Group connect buyers directly to manufacturers?
No. Buyers are never automatically connected to a manufacturer or supplier. David and the human team review qualifying projects before any appropriate external routing.