The material is not coming when it was promised. Sometimes you learn this from the supplier, more often because the truck did not arrive. The difference between a bad week and a lost month is almost entirely what happens in the next few hours.
In this article
- The call you get on a Tuesday
- Get a real date, not a reassurance
- Find out what it actually delays
- Notify while it is still an event
- Work the schedule before working the phones
- Substitution and partial delivery
- Track what it costs from day one
- The prevention is upstream
- Where to start
- Frequently asked questions
- Frequently asked questions
The call you get on a Tuesday
The material is not coming when it was promised. Sometimes you learn this from the supplier, more often you learn it because the truck did not arrive. The difference between a bad week and a lost month is almost entirely what happens in the next few hours.
Get a real date, not a reassurance
The first answer is usually vague and optimistic. Push for a shipping date and a tracking commitment, and ask what specifically is holding it. A supplier who cannot name the cause does not have a date either, and you should plan as if the delay is longer than stated.
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Find out what it actually delays
Before making any decisions, check the schedule. If the item has float, you have a problem to manage. If it sits on the critical path, you have a project issue that needs the owner and possibly a notice today.
The instinct to fix it quietly is strong and usually wrong when completion is at stake.
Notify while it is still an event
If the delay threatens the schedule, written notice goes out inside the contractual window — before you know the full impact. Suppliers recover more often than expected, and a notice withdrawn is far better than a claim that was never noticed.
Work the schedule before working the phones
Most delivery delays are survivable by resequencing. Pull forward work that does not depend on the item, move a trade, adjust the area you are working in. This is the cheapest mitigation available and it is also what you will be asked to show later.
Substitution and partial delivery
Ask whether a partial shipment can release the dependent work, and whether an approved-equal exists. Substitution requires the designer's approval and the owner's acceptance, so raise it early rather than after three weeks of waiting proved the original date fictional.
Track what it costs from day one
Idle crew, remobilization, extended general conditions, overtime to recover. Record it as it happens. Whether the cost lands on the supplier, the owner or you depends on the contract, but none of that matters if the number was never captured.
The prevention is upstream
Long-lead items should be identified at buyout, ordered early, and tracked on a separate log with confirmed dates. Most delivery surprises are items nobody was actively watching until they were needed.
Where to start
Get a real date and a cause, check the critical path before deciding anything, send notice while it is still an event, resequence before escalating, raise substitution early, capture the cost daily, and keep a long-lead log so the next one is not a surprise.
Most delivery surprises are items nobody was actively watching until they were needed.
We help builders run procurement against the schedule, track long-lead items on their own log and respond to delivery failures before they become claims.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first when a material delivery is late?
Get a real shipping date and a named cause, not a reassurance — a supplier who cannot say what is holding it does not have a date either, and you should plan as if the delay is longer than stated. Then check the schedule before deciding anything. If the item has float, you have a problem to manage; if it sits on the critical path, you have a project issue that needs the owner and possibly written notice today. The instinct to fix it quietly is strong and usually wrong when completion is at stake, because a notice withdrawn later is far better than a claim that was never noticed.
How do I mitigate a supplier delay?
Work the schedule before working the phones. Most delivery delays are survivable by resequencing: pull forward work that does not depend on the item, move a trade, change the area you are working in. It is the cheapest mitigation available and it is also what you will be asked to demonstrate later. Ask whether a partial shipment can release the dependent work and whether an approved equal exists, and raise substitution early rather than after three weeks proved the original date fictional, since it needs the designer's approval and the owner's acceptance. Record idle crew, remobilization and extended general conditions as they occur.