"Four to six weeks" tells a buyer very little. A lead time is a chain of steps, and one slow link sets the delivery date. Suppliers who break the timeline into milestones quote dates they can keep, and buyers who ask for that breakdown can see where the risk sits.
Break the lead time into parts
- Order confirmation and deposit receipt.
- Raw material or component procurement.
- Tooling, moulds or fixtures, if new ones are needed.
- Sample or first-article approval by the buyer.
- Mass production.
- Final inspection and any rework.
- Packing, export documents and transit.
Find the critical path
The critical path is the longest chain of steps that must happen in sequence. Often it is a specialised material, a tool that must be made, or a buyer approval that takes longer than expected. Shortening steps outside that chain does not move the delivery date.
Suppliers should name which events start the clock. If production starts only after sample approval, a buyer who takes two weeks to approve has added two weeks.
Use buffers honestly
Place buffer time at the risky step rather than hiding it across every step. Tell the buyer where it is. A realistic date that is met builds more trust than an optimistic one that slips, and buyers remember both.
Track milestones after award
Agree the milestones in the purchase order and report progress against them. On Quotendra, each purchase order has inspection and production milestones that both parties can update, and buyers rate on-time delivery after the job, which feeds the supplier's public reliability score.
Sources et lectures complémentaires
Guides acheteurs
Des guides courts et éprouvés pour les équipes achats : comment rédiger une demande que les fournisseurs peuvent chiffrer précisément, et comment comparer les devis reçus.