The critical role of accurate delivery times in the supply chain

Minimum delivery time

In the Dutch construction and installation industry, everything revolves around efficiency and on-time delivery. It is no understatement to say that the right information about minimum delivery times is the backbone of a smooth supply chain. Let us delve deeper into the importance of delivery times and why it plays such a crucial role in the various logistics processes.

What value is expected?

There is regular discussion about what value is expected as a minimum delivery time. It is a field that is specified per trade item, but the value for the exact delivery could differ per day of the week or depends on which customer the trade item is delivered to. Some customers have an order calendar or are only supplied once a week for efficiency reasons. These are understandable questions that arise when the delivery time is entered. It is important to distinguish that this is a minimum delivery time and not an exact delivery date. An exact delivery date applies to the order and not to the master data of a trade item. Often a delivery time is related to the type of trade item it is at the manufacturer. In addition to the minimum and maximum delivery time, the stock item indicator also provides additional information.

Some examples illustrate this point:

Consequences of missing delivery time information

One thing we can say for sure is that the lack of correct information leads to distrust and distrust leads to inefficiency. To show you the consequences of not providing correct minimum delivery times, we will give you an impression of what happens at the wholesaler.

When an installer wants to order a trade item for which the delivery time is missing or has proven to be unreliable, they will contact the sales department; often by telephone. The sales department will then contact inventory management when the item in question arrives. Inventory management will have to contact the manufacturer for this and then go the same route back. This leads to a lot of unnecessary work but also to a lot of ad hoc actions and subsequently to a greater chance of errors.

Finally, wholesalers keep safety stocks to absorb fluctuations in demand, but not to compensate for incorrect delivery times. This means that a wholesaler sometimes has to say ‘no’ and may have to switch to other manufacturers in order to serve their customer.

Our common goal: an efficient supply chain with reliable delivery time information. Let’s work together to achieve this.

• Minimum delivery time
  Minimum period within which the ordered trade item can be delivered after receipt of the order by the supplier. The delivery times given by the data supplier are informative and no rights can be derived from them. When days or weeks are given, these are intended as calendar days or calendar weeks (7 days).
  
  Minimum delivery time format mapping

• Maximum delivery time
  Maximum period within which the ordered trade item can be delivered after receipt of the order by the supplier. The delivery times given by the data supplier are informative and no rights can be derived from them. When days or weeks are given, these are intended as calendar days or calendar weeks (7 days).
  
  Maximum delivery time format mapping

• MakeToStockIndicator
  Indicator that shows whether the trade item is “standard in stock” at the supplier. The value does not guarantee that the trade item is always in stock
  
  MakeToStockIndicator format mapping

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