How To Build Cabinet Door Lead Times Into A Project Schedule
Cabinet door lead times can delay your project. How should you plan for them? Add production, transit, and replacement time before scheduling.
At A Glance
How Should You Account For Cabinet Door Lead Times In Your Schedule?
Start with your target installation date and work backwards. Confirm each product’s lead time, then add transit time and a buffer for replacements. Also include the time required for anything you make in-house. Don’t set your installation date until you have determined when every required product can realistically be ready.
Projects that run behind cost you time and money. You may need to reschedule installers, make extra trips to the job site, or wait longer for payment on an unfinished project. These delays can also frustrate your customer and damage their trust in you. So, how do you account for cabinet door lead times when building your project schedule? How much time should you allow for shipping and replacements? And when should you move an installation date?
At Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, we manufacture custom cabinet doors and related wood products for cabinet makers and contractors. While we do not build project schedules, our products affect those schedules every day. In fact, at least once a week, a customer asks us to ship their order sooner than our standard lead times. This gives us first-hand experience with how unrealistic ordering dates can delay an installation and put a contractor in a difficult position with their customer. Our goal is to provide clear lead-time information so you can plan accurately and protect your reputation.
By the end of this article, you will know:
Why Do You Need To Account For Cabinet Door Lead Times?
If your project schedule does not include the full lead time for your materials, it may be unrealistic from the start.
We see this problem regularly at Cutting Edge. At least once a week, someone asks us to ship materials sooner than our standard lead time. While we can sometimes accommodate these requests, our existing production schedule often prevents us from doing so.
For example, one customer placed a large order (over 100 pieces) of custom cabinet doors and expected them to ship within 10 working days. Our team did what we could to meet the requested date, but our production schedule was already full. As a result, the customer had to reschedule their installation.
However, production is only one part of the timeline. You also need to allow for transit time, your own shop work (and schedule), and the possibility of needing a replacement. A product with 10 working days of production and two days of transit already needs at least 12 working days to reach you. Adding shop time and a replacement buffer extends that timeline further.
By accounting for the full timeline before promising an installation date, you can give your customer a date you are more likely to meet.
How To Allow For Cabinet Door Lead Times In Project Scheduling
The simplest way to build a more accurate schedule is to start with your target installation date and work backwards. As you do, account for every product and task that must be completed before installation.
1. Determine Your Ideal Installation Date
Start with the date you would like to install the project, but don’t make any promises yet.
Before confirming that date with your customer, consider everything that needs to happen first. Depending on your project, this could include cabinet assembly, finishing, hardware installation, and final quality checks.
2. List Every Product And Supplier Required For Your Project
Next, list every product you need to complete the project and where it will come from. Include your own shop on the list if you need to make components so you can estimate how long your team needs. Looking at every product together helps you identify whether cabinet doors or another item controls your installation date.
3. Confirm Current Lead Times With Your Suppliers
Once you know what you need, reach out to your suppliers to confirm the current lead time for each product. Lead times can change based on production capacity, order size, materials, finishes, and product type. For that reason, the timeline from your last order may not apply to your next one. You should also confirm when the lead time begins if you are working with a new supplier. For example, Cutting Edge does not start production until the order is approved, paid for, and all details are confirmed.
Using current lead times prevents outdated assumptions from delaying your entire schedule.
4. Add Transit Time To The Lead Times
Once you know when a product should ship, determine how long it should take to reach you. A supplier’s ship date is not the same as the date you will receive the product. For example, large orders (20+ cabinet doors) shipping from Cutting Edge to larger cities, such as Vancouver or Winnipeg, often spend one to two days in transit. Smaller orders sent by Purolator often take three to five working days.
Add expected transit time to the production lead time before deciding when you need to place the order.
5. Build In A Buffer Zone For Replacements
Then, consider the possibility of problems, and build in a buffer zone. At Cutting Edge, replacement doors typically ship within three to five working days, although custom or finished items can take longer. Because replacements often ship through Purolator, you may then need to allow another three to five working days for transit. As a result, even a standard replacement could add more than a week to your schedule.
Your buffer should account for both the time required to make the replacement and the time required to ship it.
6. Work Backwards From Your Installation Date
Once you have these timelines, you can work backwards to find your order dates.
For example, suppose you want to begin installing a kitchen on Monday, November 16, and your cabinet doors require 10 working days of production. Your schedule (accounting for only the doors) might look like this:
| Project Step | Time Allowed | Target Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Final Assembly And Prep (Finishing) | 5 Working Days | Nov. 9 - 13 |
| Replacement Buffer | 8 Working Days | Oct. 28 - Nov. 6 |
| Transit | 2 Working Days | Oct. 26 - 27 |
| Cabinet Door Production | 10 Working Days | Oct. 12 - 25 |
| Recommended Order Date | Oct. 9 |
This is an example only. Actual dates depend on your products, suppliers, location, and shop schedule.
Although the doors themselves require only 10 working days of production, you actually need to place the order about a month before installation to avoid delays. Ordering the cabinet doors 10 days before installation guarantees your project will run behind.
7. Adjust Your Installation Date If Needed
After working backwards, you may realize that you can’t achieve your target installation date.
Before changing it, check whether any part of the schedule can reasonably be shortened. For example, a supplier may be able to ship your order sooner if you pay a rush fee. However, you should never build your schedule around the assumption that they can rush your order. If the materials cannot arrive in time, move the installation date before promising it to your customer. A realistic date from the beginning is better than an earlier date you have to change later.
Why Is It So Easy To Miss Cabinet Door Lead Times When Scheduling?
Cabinet door lead times are easy to underestimate because you do not see the manufacturing process when you outsource your doors.
From your perspective, placing an order doesn’t take long. However, your supplier’s process is much longer, and your order must fit into their existing schedule. Cabinet door suppliers may serve hundreds of cabinet makers and contractors, which means other orders are already scheduled and in production when yours arrives. Even if your supplier can produce your order in five working days, they cannot begin production immediately. At Cutting Edge, we have at least two days of work locked in; when we are running at full capacity, we can have five days of work already scheduled.
And on that note, this is one reason suppliers like Cutting Edge cannot always accommodate rush requests. Depending on how full your supplier’s schedule is, moving one order ahead can delay an older order, which is hard to justify. Often, cabinet door suppliers accept rush orders only if they won’t impact their existing schedule.
Lead times can also be easy to miss because some suppliers do not publish them clearly. When current information is difficult to find, it can be tempting to rely on an old lead time or your own estimate. However, always confirm the details before setting your schedule. Ask for the current production lead time, when that lead time begins, expected transit time, and the supplier’s replacement process. Together, those answers give you a much more useful timeline than production time alone.
Learn How Far In Advance You Should Order Custom Cabinet Doors
Including cabinet door lead times in your project schedule from the beginning helps you avoid the extra costs and frustrations delays cause. Account for production, transit, possible replacements, and your own shop time before promising an installation date. Then work backwards to determine when each order needs to be placed. Doing this reduces the risk of rush orders, rescheduled installations, extra costs, and unhappy customers.
Your next step is to learn how far in advance you should order custom cabinet doors so you can set more accurate ordering and installation dates. At Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, we manufacture custom cabinet doors every day and see how supplier timelines affect contractors’ schedules. By giving you clear lead times, we can help you plan accurately, keep projects moving, and protect your reputation.
