Avoiding "Next Year Delivery" from manufacturers
The Insight
The supply chain plays a crucial role in design, particularly when clients require large volumes of equipment within restrictive timeframes. Designers need to always be aware of manufacturing and stock holding patterns of equipment suppliers to avoid costly delays and being forced to redesign during the tender and construction phase of projects.
It is important to identify and communicate supply chain risks as much as possible to all stakeholders. However, to do so, you must understand where and why delays occur.
The Impact
There are many commons causes for equipment delays. For the most part, this makes them predictable and therefore avoidable.
Delay One: Supply & Demand
Equipment manufacturers have different market shares which impacts their stock holding and manufacturing capability. Some suppliers only commence manufacturing upon order of equipment.
Supply chains can be significantly impacted by other projects that are larger in scale and take precedence due to profitability. Unfortunately, this can often be impossible to foresee.
Delay Two: Ill-defined Estimates
Engineers and designers often request lead times from suppliers and are provided with a best-case scenario response. Specific aspects such as the necessary volume, where the equipment is manufactured, the impact of material shortages and other supply chain issues are often not explored to obtain a realistic lead time.
The most common oversight in lead times is the volume of equipment. If a project requires 10 of a particular item of equipment and the suppliers’ published lead time is 16 weeks, it generally isn’t until the tender or construction phase that it comes to light that the manufacturer may be able to supply 4 of these items in 16 weeks but will need 6 months to provide 10.
Delay Three: Delivery
Manufacturing can be local or overseas. Particularly with the current logistical climate of COVID-19, global shortfalls in delivery and materials can drastically impact lead times for the supply of equipment.