how to navigate lead times

First off, let’s talk about what a lead time is. A lead time is the time it takes for a product to arrive from the purchase date. This means, that the lead time starts AFTER you have paid your deposit.

As you may know, lead times are at an all-time high right now. Why is that? It’s the perfect storm of supply chain issues with consumer demand. (This is also why prices are at an all-time high too). A decent amount of manufacturers are struggling to get at least one component of their product which is in turn causing their production to either be delayed or in some cased, completely halt. For example, a few weeks ago, our window installer told us that Andersen Windows are on a 66 week lead time because they lost their aluminum supplier. YIKES! But unfortunately, they are not alone.

what products are on the longest lead time?

The general areas that are on the longest lead time are windows, doors, appliances, tubs (kind of strange but that’s what my research tells me), and concrete block. I’m also going to toss in furniture to this category too. Nowhere in my research told me that it was absurdly long, but I know from being in the industry that it too is very delayed.

(by absurdly long, these lead times are in the 6+ months timeframe)

so what can you do about it?

There are a few ways and steps to navigate these leads times.

step 1: plan ahead

This is the most critical step. If you know that you are planning on ordering these products in the near future, know that you need to order them well in advance of when you’d like them to be delivered. For example, we ordered our dishwasher one year before we’d like to move into our house and there is a strong possibility that it still will not be delivered in time for us to move in. If you are unsure about what the lead times are looking like in your area, do a little research. Reach out to a local distributor or manufacturer and ask. If you don’t know who the local distributor is, the manufacturer can tell you their recommended distributors / installers.

step 2: be flexible

Determine what your priorities are and be flexible in navigating the situation. For example, if you know that you want a specific dishwasher, in our case it was the bosche 800 series panel front dishwasher, but we knew that if we ordered that one, it would be a 12+ month lead time. Now, I could go to home depot tomorrow and purchase an in-stock dishwasher, but it wouldn’t be what I’d want. So you need to decide what is more important, the specification or having it immediately (if possible).

step 3: shop secondhand (if possible)

This is an amazing option to have something way faster and likely cheaper. We are avid secondhand shoppers. We’ve found under-mount bathroom sinks, furniture, and even a toilet all for amazing prices. I always recommend doing a quick search for a secondhand option prior to placing your order. Sometimes you can find exactly what you’re looking for. This is an even better avenue though if you don’t have a specific specification in mind but you know that you are looking for a general item (like a sink).

Lead times can be pretty frustrating, but hopefully keeping these three steps in mind will help you keep your sanity and your project on time. Drop a comment with any questions below!