Configurable Scheduled Dates and Lead Times

Configurable scheduled dates and lead times let CommerceCore™ calculate a realistic delivery date automatically, by combining several separate lead time settings - how long procurement takes, how long manufacturing takes, and what security buffer you want on each - instead of a staff member estimating a delivery date by guesswork or manually checking a spreadsheet every time an order comes in.

Why Not Just Set One Delivery Estimate for Everything?

A single flat delivery estimate ("ships in 5 days") ignores that different products move through different processes before they reach a customer. A stocked item ships almost immediately; a manufactured-to-order item needs production time on top of shipping; a purchased-on-demand item needs supplier lead time added in. Treating all three the same way either overpromises on the slow items or unnecessarily pads the delivery date on the fast ones, and customers notice both.

What Are the Different Lead Time Types, and Why Does Each Exist?

• Customer Lead Time - Expected delivery to customer
• Sales Security Lead Time - Buffer for sales commitments
• Purchase Security Lead Time - Buffer for procurement
• Purchase Delivery Lead Time - Supplier delivery time
• Manufacturing Lead Time - Production duration
• Production Security Lead Time - Manufacturing buffer

Each of these lead times represents a different point of uncertainty in the fulfillment chain. Purchase delivery lead time accounts for how long your supplier genuinely takes; the purchase security lead time adds a buffer on top for the days a supplier occasionally runs late. Manufacturing lead time is the base production time, while the production security lead time buffers for the times a production run takes longer than planned. Stacking these together, rather than using one blended number, is what makes the final delivery commitment realistic.

How Does CommerceCore™ Turn These Settings Into a Date?

When a customer places an order, CommerceCore™ combines the relevant lead times for that specific product - whether it is stocked, manufactured, or purchased on demand - and adds the applicable security buffers to calculate a scheduled delivery date automatically. That calculation happens the same way every time, which is what removes the manual planning step where someone previously had to check supplier lead times or production schedules by hand.

How Do You Configure Lead Times?

1. Open CommerceCore™ settings and locate the lead time configuration section.
2. Set your Customer Lead Time as the baseline expectation communicated to buyers.
3. Configure Purchase Delivery Lead Time and Purchase Security Lead Time for products you buy in on demand.
4. Configure Manufacturing Lead Time and Production Security Lead Time for products you produce to order.
5. Review a sample order for each product type to confirm the calculated delivery date matches what you would expect.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I don't set a security lead time?

Without a buffer, the calculated delivery date reflects only the base process time, which can lead to missed commitments whenever a supplier or production run runs even slightly behind schedule.

Do lead times apply per product or across the whole catalog?

Lead times can be set at different levels depending on your configuration - some apply company-wide as defaults, while product-specific settings override them for items with unusual sourcing or production timelines.

Can lead times change automatically if a supplier gets slower over time?

Lead time settings are configured values, not something CommerceCore™ adjusts on its own based on observed supplier performance, so periodically reviewing and updating them against actual delivery performance keeps the commitments realistic.

Who Benefits From Tuning Lead Times?

• Accurate commitment dates
• Better customer satisfaction
• Reduced manual planning
• Improved inventory management

Operations teams juggling a mix of stocked, purchased, and manufactured products are the ones who benefit most from configuring lead times properly, since it replaces manual date-guessing with a calculation the system runs consistently. If your delivery date promises are not matching what actually happens, talk to Simplify-ERP about tuning your lead time configuration in CommerceCore™.