Perfecting Your Submittal Process for On-time Deliveries

MCS Influencer John Kenney says that finishing projects on time starts at the beginning. 

On-time delivery is crucial to a contractor and client's long-term relationship. There are many items a contractor must implement to have a successful system in place that countries provide a dependable on-time delivery outcome to the job site. Here are some best practices you can implement in your business. 

As roofing contractors, we want to ensure that every project finishes strong. And a strong finish starts at the beginning with careful planning and preparation.  

It starts with the submittal process. Submittals can consist of shop drawings, product data, samples and mockups that you will deliver to the design professional for review and action as required by the contract documents. It is critical to coordinate these items to be submitted with your manufacturer. Approval by the designer and acceptance by the manufacturer must happen before items are fabricated and delivered. After the fact, it will be too late to prevent project setbacks from costing time and money. 

Once you have all the approvals on your upcoming order, the next step is getting your order ready to submit to the manufacturer. One way to delay or add cost to your project is by not correctly measuring the roof or building. Wrong measurements will lead to ordering the incorrect size panels or coils. Always do a field measurement before ordering standing seam, siding panels and accessory trims. 

Avoid ordering off plans or a job not built to speed up lead times. Due to this, I have seen either too long or short panels. If it is a new construction project, work with the general contractor and manufacturer on the fabrication and delivery time needed once you can take proper field measurements. This does not mean you hold off placing your order. You can get very close to what you need from the plans if you perform a proper take-off. When the manufacturer knows this is for ordering their stock material required for your project, not a fabrication, it allows them to have your material on the floor and ready for fabrication and delivery when needed.   

The key to navigating through this is having a proper internal process within your company, communication, and working with a manufacturing sales rep or distributor that is as committed to your organization's success as you are. 

You can't change what happens further up in the supply chain, but you can influence the variables within your control, which is one of the secrets to staying ahead of the competition. 

John Kenney is the CEO at Cotney Consulting Group. See his full bio here.