What's The Difference Between Arrival Rates and Inter Arrival Times?

The inter arrival time is a key option in the Start Point of any simulation; therefore, it is important to know the difference between arrival rate and inter arrival time.

The arrival rate is the number of arrivals per unit of time.
The inter arrival time is the time between each arrival into the system and the next.

The arrival rate is calculated from the following equation:

arrival rate = 1/inter arrival time

If you invert the arrival rate, your answer is the inter arrival time, which can then be used in your simulation.

inter arrival time = 1/arrival rate

For example

If 12 customers enter a store per hour, the time between each arrival is:

inter arrival time = 1/arrival rate

= 1/12

= 0.083 (hours)

= 0.083 x 60 minutes

= 5 (minutes)

Therefore from the arrival rate of 12 per hour, the time between each arrival is 5 minutes.

For more examples, contact Minitab Technical Support.