An AI cycle time reporting agent calculates elapsed and working time between stage changes for requests, approvals, contracts and invoices.
A purchase request or contract task starts the clock
Agent records each stage start and end
Agent computes time in each stage and wait states
Agent identifies stages where items wait longest
A process owner decides which delay to address
History is stored by process and period
It separates active work from waiting, and shows which approver, team or vendor the wait sits with.
It reports by request type and value band, so a simple renewal is not averaged with a complex new purchase.
Everyone feels that procurement is slow, but few can say where. Averages hide the cases that take the longest.
A few stuck cases are hidden behind many fast ones.
A request sits with an approver on leave and nobody notices.
Simple and complex cases are measured together.
Email approvals leave no record of when they happened.
Teams argue about whose step is slow.
Read stage entry and exit times from workflow records.
Compute elapsed and working time for each stage.
Split by request type, value and team.
Identify the stages and holders where time accumulates.
Show medians and long-tail cases, not just averages.
Bring a small sample and watch Flo work through it.
| Aspect | By hand | With the agent |
|---|---|---|
| Measurement | Cycle time is estimated or taken from a single field | Timestamps are read from each stage record |
| Stage detail | Only total duration is known | Time in each stage is shown separately |
| Waiting | Delays blamed on teams without proof | Waiting on a requester, approver or vendor is separated from working time |
| Comparison | Process owners compare by feel | Periods and teams are compared on the same basis |
| Follow-up | Slow cases are noticed after they close | Open cases ageing past expected time are listed now |
| If | Then | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Item waits for an approver | Counts the time as approval wait | Approval owner is told if it passes the target |
| Item waits for requester information | Counts as requester wait | Requester is prompted |
| Item waits for a vendor reply | Counts as vendor wait | Buyer follows up |
| Open item passes its expected duration | Flags it as ageing | Process owner decides |
| Timestamps are missing | Marks the measure incomplete | Data owner fixes the record |
| A stage is skipped | Notes the bypass and the reason where it exists | Process owner reviews |
The agent counts the restart as a new loop and links it to the first. The process owner decides whether to count total or active time.
The agent uses a stated calendar so waits are not inflated. The process owner sets the calendar.
The agent records the change and when the clock restarted. The owner decides whether to treat it as one case or two.
If a stage has no timestamps, the agent reports what it can and marks the rest. The data owner decides how to capture it.
Talk it through with the team. We will map it to your steps and show where a person stays in control.
Start with purchase requests, where stages are clear.
Agree when timing starts and stops, and which waits count.
Share stage durations with owners and note the largest waits.
Apply the same method to other processes with their own stage definitions.
Median cycle time (days) = middle value of (completion date - request date) across completed requestsRead it with the longest 10th of cases, since the median alone hides delays. Compare by request type.
Quick answers to what people ask most about cycle time reporting.
Book a demoIt is the measurement of how long procurement work takes from start to finish, and how long it spends at each stage along the way.
From the timestamps in your approval, PO and contract workflow records.
No. It shows where time is spent. Leaders decide what to change.
Averages hide the slowest cases. The agent shows the median and the long tail together.
Procurement KPI reporting is the regular publication of measures such as cycle time, contract coverage and spend under management.
→SLA compliance reporting compares a vendor's actual service performance with the service levels promised in its contract.
→Category insights are the facts a category manager needs to plan: who the vendors are, what is spent, how prices compare, which contracts apply and what is changing.
→CFO spend reporting is the summary of vendor spend a finance chief needs: totals against budget, committed future spend, major variances and risks.
→Bring a small sample of real items. We will show what Flo handles on its own and where it hands over to your team.
