Six tonnes of polymer granules were due from the main supplier on the 4th of the month. Four tonnes arrived on the 14th. The plant buys this material on a 70/30 split between two approved sources, and the 70% source has just missed by ten days and a third of the quantity.

The first reaction is often to rewrite the whole supplier allocation at once. Doing so rarely helps. A good response separates the next three weeks from the next three months, because the two need different answers.

What Does the Miss Actually Cost the Plan?

Start by turning tonnes into orders. List every production order that needs the material before the late delivery lands, with its quantity and its due date. In this illustrative case, five orders need 3.8 tonnes over the ten-day gap, and stores hold 1.5 tonnes. The shortfall is 2.3 tonnes, spread over specific dates.

That list tells the team which customers are exposed. It also shows whether the problem is the whole quantity or only the first few days. Orders for the largest customers usually go to the top of the list, though contract penalties can reorder it.

How Should the Short-Term Gap Be Covered?

Four levers usually exist, and the cheapest one depends on the numbers.

• Ask the second source for an extra lot. If it holds stock or has spare capacity, a 2.5 tonne order with a one-week lead time may close most of the gap.
• Resequence production so orders that do not use this material run first.
• Use an approved alternative grade where the specification allows it, after quality signs off on the first lot.
• Split customer deliveries, shipping part now and the rest when material arrives.

Each lever moves something else. Resequencing shifts other orders, and the alternative grade may carry a different scrap rate. Run the options against the production plan before picking one. Good production planning and control software shows the knock-on dates for each option, so the choice rests on what moves and by how much.

Should the Long-Term Split Change?

One late delivery proves little. A pattern does. Pull the last twelve deliveries from each source and count how many arrived on time and in full. Suppose the main source managed nine of twelve and the second source eleven. Such a gap supports a change, and the size of the gap suggests how far to move.

Look at the cause before deciding. A fire at a supplier’s plant is a one-off event and calls for a temporary shift. Chronic lateness from a supplier that has taken on new customers and stretched its own capacity is a different story. It calls for a lasting change to the supplier allocation, perhaps from 70/30 to 55/45 for the next quarter, with a review date set.

Three limits shape how far the split can move. The second source needs real capacity to absorb a larger share. Contracts may set minimum volumes with the main source. A price gap between the two changes the cost of each point moved. Moving everything to one source removes the variety that protected the plant in the first place, so keep at least two sources live on critical materials.

What Must Change in the Planning Data?

A new split means little if the planning parameters still assume the old supplier behaviour. Update the lead time in the item master to what the main source really delivers, using the average of recent receipts. Raise the safety stock on this material if lead times have become less predictable. Record the new split so planned purchase orders follow it automatically. Planning and buying work together here. Planners decide what quantity is needed by which date. Buyers turn that into supplier orders and manage the relationship. A shared view of the plan keeps both sides working from the same numbers.

What Should Happen Next Time?

Write the response down as a short playbook. Define the trigger, such as two late deliveries in a quarter, and the person who reviews the supplier allocation when it fires. Keep production planning and control software fed with updated lead times and receipt dates. The next missed delivery then shows up as a list of specific order risks on the day the supplier confirms it.

With that list in hand, the first hour goes on deciding which lever to pull, and little of it goes on searching email threads for the affected orders.

Oritiq offers a demo that traces a missed delivery through to the affected production orders.