For important orders, record the supplier’s confirmation, the promised dispatch date and the person responsible for checking it. Distinguish an estimate from a confirmed commitment. Set the follow-up before the stockout becomes urgent, with enough time to contact an alternative supplier or revise the customer’s expectation.
Keep a short record of delays and the explanation given. Over several orders, that record helps distinguish an isolated problem from a pattern. It also makes supplier discussions more precise: identify the missed commitment and the practical effect rather than arguing about general reliability. Do not build a customer promise on a delivery assumption nobody has verified. A modest stock buffer and an early conversation may be more useful than paying repeatedly for emergency shipping.
