E471: Ask Coach – Managing And Scheduling Material Deliveries
Schedule and monitor material deliveries to maximize production and cash flow.
Q: What are some suggestions on managing the material delivery process to avoid having to pay for materials that haven’t even been installed yet?
A: Create schedules for your material deliveries that match production and make the suppliers meet your needs.
- Managing the supplier properly will help in many ways
- It can help with cash flow, project logistics, storage, damage, theft, etc.
- Start the discussion during the pricing stage and incorporate into the PO
- Remember, the cheapest supplier may not always be the best
- Communicate your schedule early and often
- Schedule your deliveries to maximize production and cash flow
- Practice the Just In Time method of material delivery
- Have suppliers deliver only what you need to keep production up each week
- The frequency may depend on your project but try to get smaller quantities more frequently
- If you can bill for stored materials plan accordingly
- Plan your production and match your materials
- Determine and plan your material consumption rates
- Schedule deliveries to match your consumption
- Monitor your production and increase/decrease your quantities accordingly