LexiconExpansion
Constraint
القيد
Definition
A constraint is the slowest station in a production line, which sets the speed of the whole line. Eliyahu Goldratt made the idea famous in his 1984 novel The Goal; in a branch it may be the grill, the payment window or the riders' shelf, and every order a campaign adds ahead of it only lengthens the queue.
In plain words
The slowest point in your service; it sets how much you can sell however much demand you add.
Saudi usage
- At Monsha'at: عنق الزجاجة (opens in a new tab) Accessed
Also searched as
- bottleneck
- theory of constraints
- slowest station
- TOC
- القيد
Origin and credit
The concept comes from Eliyahu M. Goldratt. What the series adds is the application to Saudi multi-branch groups and the decision rule.
Original source
- Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Jeff Cox, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, North River Press, 1984.
Where it is used
In the Doctrine and the Playbook
In Beneath Marketing
Related terms
Should I open a new branch? Run the numbers
How to cite this definition
Alhajj, S. (2026). “Constraint”. In The Revenue Engineering Lexicon, version 1.0. Riyadh. https://seiflden.com/lexicon/constraint/
For the concept itself, cite the original: Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Jeff Cox, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, North River Press, 1984.