There is no one like their orders delivery date are delayed. However, in fact,we can find that there are lots of orders are always delay. Many customers like you may feel very angry and fed up with that. Because it is a matter of your business activities can go on smoothly or not, especially when the project is for promotion. This situation also happen in umbrella field. As you may well known, umbrellas are hand-made and assemble by a lot of accessories. If one accessory is not coming, it would affect the whole batch goods production. Why your umbrella orders are always delayed? In my opinion, reasons can be listed as follows:
1. LONG RAW MATERIALS DELIVERY DATE
For some regular raw materials, the lead time is about 30-45 days. For special materials, it may needs 45-60 days. Some times it needs some more time to make it due to there are not ready materials to use. It takes time to prepare it.
- One reason is, at recent years, the local environmental protection department pay more attention to the environment protection problem. They would audit factories to see whether they have brought some bad hazards to contaminate the air and water or not. During this time, factories will be closed and waiting for auditing. Only when pass the audit, then can go on production. In some extent, it would increase the raw materials delivery date.
- Machine or moulding have problems. It needs to take some time to repair it and then can continue production.
- Poor raw materials quality. Raw materials are not the one as per the order requirements. It needs to remake it again.
- Suppliers’ Upper stream suppliers do not delivery the parts on time. Factory do not have enough time for assembling the materials.
2.PRODUCTION CAPACITY SURPASS THE FACTORY CAPABILITY
- In order to gain more orders from customers, some factories even know their production capacity are full loaded, but still exaggerate their production capacity. And promise that they can finish production the order in time to get the order. Once they cannot meet the delivery date, it would be a disaster for both the customer and the factory. Factory lose their trust and customer also lost their trust to their end-customers. It happens not only in product production, but also in raw materials production.
- Another problem is lack of workers, especially lack of skilled workers. With the rapid development of the e-commerce, young people would not willing to work in the factory as their parents. They would prefer to work in the office building, do some business online or something special. As the economic fast development in middle and west area of China, some workers can obtain good salary as the one they obtain in the coastal city. They would prefer to work at home or nearest factory, instead of working far away from home. It would also good for them to take good care of their parents and kids.
- Factory production plan do not coordinate and execute well. When they need to rush the order, they insert orders randomly. It would disorganize the whole production plan.
3. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROBLEM
Currently, any competition ultimately is supply chain management competition. The one who has good supply chain management can win at last. A well-run supply chain compresses time, reduces expensive distribution processes as well as costly buffer inventories.
Most orders delay are because of their poor supply chain management. There are two problems mention below.
- One problem is without supply chain management control for the whole production process. Raw materials incoming inspection is very important. When all raw materials are ready, mass production will begin. Problems are usually found in the final inspection. That is because they do not conduct the supply chain management for the order. It should go on from raw materials incoming to final goods production. In this way, only when each step of production is in good control, more than 80% of problems can be avoided.
- Another problem, different departments do not cooperate and coordinate well. It affects the order production status. If all departments are good to cooperate, workers are all with strongly time concepts and good responsibility, the production can go on smoothly. At the same time, the factory can operate very well.
4. OTHER REASONS
There are some reasons if we do not take it carefully. It will also affect the lead time.
- The pre-production sample needs some more time to test.
- Pre-production samples do not send to customers for confirmation in time before mass production.
- Details information does not provide in time (packing info, hangtag artwork, and sticker label).
Above reasons are the one which we think it would cause your order delay.
SUGGESTIONS:
To make sure the lead time can be more punctual, we think if we can make it as follows, the lead time can be more punctual.
- If you have a potential umbrella project, you can plan earlier or place the order earlier, then suppliers can have more enough time for preparing raw materials and mass production.
- Before you place the order, you must know the supplier’s current production capacity, raw materials lead time and then check whether your lead time can make sure or not.
- Inspection should be strictly conducted from raw material incoming,semi-product production to final goods production. It would be one of the most important steps to make sure the lead time be punctual.
- When you place the order, you need to confirm all details of the sample( for example, which position to sew the label, how to pack the goods). Only when all details info is confirmed, it would greatly make sure the production can be more smoothly and lead time can be more punctual.
- Suppliers should also monitor and follow the order materials and regularly inform customers of the current status of the order. Once there is any problem, it would be better to find a way to solve the problem, instead of letting the customer know the problem at last time.
Above some points, we think that it may affect the lead time. Suggestions that we take are for your reference.
