In The Goal1, there are three simple management metrics for measuring how an action within business fits with the goal of a company to make money Throughput: is the rate at which the system generates money through sales. Inventory: Inventory is all the money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell Operational Expense (OPEX): is all the money system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput
Ideally, throughput goes up, and the other two go down.
1. Goldratt, E. M. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. (North River Press, Great Barrington, Mass, 2012).