Confirm quantity and timing for your order
Quantity and timing depend on the order: the line, the number of units, the layout, the customisation, the site, and the date the houses are needed. Ask for figures tied to your house line, unit count, layout, customisation, site and required date. Use the supplier's written figures for the actual order when planning its quantity and timing.
The two confirmations should be made together, because they affect each other. A larger quantity may need a longer time, a customised layout may need a longer time than a standard one, and a tight date may limit the quantity that can be supplied. The inquiry should give the quantity wanted and the date needed in the same message, so that the supplier answers both together rather than confirming one and then revising it against the other.
Writing the quantity and timing question
The quantity question should state the number of units, the line or lines, and whether the units are identical or varied, because a mixed order is a different quantity question from a uniform one. The timing question should state the date the houses must be ready, not just the date they must be delivered, because delivery and readiness are different events, and a house delivered is not yet a house ready to use.
Ask both questions in the same inquiry, naming the exact house, quantity wanted and date needed. Please confirm the minimum order quantity with the supplier before placing an order. Please confirm the lead time with the supplier before placing an order. Keep both confirmations with the house brief and check that the reply covers the exact order, quantity and required date.
After the figures arrive
When the supplier replies with figures, keep them with the brief they answer: the line, the unit count, the layout, the site and the date. Figures confirmed for one brief do not automatically apply to a changed brief, and a buyer who changes the line, the count or the date should confirm again rather than carrying the old figures forward.
If the figures do not suit the project, the buyer should say so promptly and ask what would change them: a different line, a different quantity, a different date, or a phased delivery. That conversation is part of ordering, not an obstacle to it, and it works best when the original brief is still in front of both sides, which is why the inquiry should be kept with the reply.
Phased orders and quantity questions
Some orders arrive in phases rather than all at once: a first set of houses, then a second set when the first is occupied, then a third as the project grows. The buyer should describe the phases, the quantity for each, and the dates each phase is needed, because a phased order is a different quantity and timing question from a single delivery, and the supplier should confirm each phase separately rather than confirming only the total.
Phasing also changes what happens if one phase is delayed. The buyer should ask what flexibility exists between phases: whether a later phase can be brought forward, whether an earlier phase can be extended, and what notice is needed for a change. Those questions belong in the original inquiry, because a phased order agreed without flexibility can become a rigid commitment that serves neither side when plans change.
Ask Evermore about quantity and timing for a container house
Describe the house type, the place it will stand, and the questions you need answered before ordering.
Send an inquiryContact details