Supplier calls with delay news. Soon IBIOS will tell affected customers before they call you.
A supplier delay is unavoidable. Several customers ringing that week to ask where their delivery is — each time requiring a separate lookup and explanation — is not. IBIOS order management links each supplier order to the customer jobs it affects, so you can see who needs telling. Automatic late-delivery alerts that text and email those customers are coming soon and are not live yet.
What happens when a supplier rings with delay news?
Supplier rings on a Tuesday morning: production issue, bath delivery delayed. Staff member takes the call, makes a note on a piece of paper, and gets pulled into something else. The note doesn’t make it into the job records. Several customers are expecting a delivery that week.
Wednesday: the first customer rings asking for a delivery update. Staff member has to dig out the note, find the right customer record, and explain. Thursday: another customer rings. Friday: another. The same conversation, over and over. By the last call, the customer who rings is the one who finds out they weren’t proactively told — and they say so.
The delay was the supplier’s fault. The damage to the customer relationship was yours. Not because you didn’t know about the delay — you did — but because the information didn’t move from the supplier call to the affected customers in time. That gap is a process gap, and it happens every time a supplier delay isn’t linked to the jobs it affects.
How will IBIOS tell customers about a supplier delay (coming soon)?
A step-by-step walkthrough from the supplier’s call to all affected customers being notified.
Supplier calls with delay news
Supplier rings to say a bath shipment will be late due to a production issue. IBIOS logs the delay against the supplier order with the revised ETA and reason.
Affected jobs identified automatically
IBIOS traces the supplier order through to all linked customer jobs. Several jobs are affected. Customer names, contact details, and original delivery dates are compiled straight away.
Proactive notifications sent (coming soon)
Coming soon: IBIOS will send each affected customer an SMS and email: their delivery has been delayed, new estimated date, apology, and contact number. Sent before any of them ring the showroom.
Installation manager alerted to scheduling risk
Any affected jobs with a scheduled installation date within the delay window are flagged. The installation manager reviews and makes rescheduling decisions with full visibility, not piecemeal.
What will change for the business
The delay was real. The customer conversations were manageable because customers had been told before they had to ask. Being proactive about bad news is one of the most effective things a trade business can do to maintain trust — and once late-delivery alerts launch (coming soon), IBIOS will make it automatic rather than dependent on someone remembering to make separate calls.
Questions about supplier delay notifications
Can IBIOS automatically identify which customer jobs are affected by a supplier delay?
Yes. When a delay is logged against a supplier order, IBIOS traces through to all customer jobs that include a line item from that order. It generates a list of affected jobs with customer contact details and expected delivery dates so you can see immediately who needs to be notified and what their revised timeline looks like.
What information does the customer notification include?
Coming soon: late-delivery alerts are not live yet. Once they launch, the notification will include: the product affected, the original expected delivery date, the revised estimated delivery date, an apology from your business, and a direct contact number if the customer needs to discuss the change. It will be sent from your business, not from the supplier, and use your business name and contact details throughout.
Can I review the notifications before they are sent, or do they go automatically?
Both options are planned for late-delivery alerts, which are coming soon. IBIOS will let you hold notifications in a review queue where the owner or manager approves each one before sending, or send them automatically as soon as the delay is logged. For most businesses, automatic sending is likely to suit for delays where the reason is clear. The review queue is useful when the situation is complex or the delay reason is sensitive.
How does IBIOS handle a delay that affects an installation date?
If a delayed product is on the critical path for an installation, IBIOS flags this on the affected job records. The installation manager can see which scheduled installations are at risk and decide whether to hold the date, reschedule, or source a replacement product. The decision is made once, with full visibility of all affected jobs, rather than being discovered one job at a time as fitters arrive on site.
Can affected customers reply to the notification to reschedule?
Yes, once late-delivery alerts launch (coming soon). Inbound replies to the SMS notification will be captured by IBIOS and logged as customer messages linked to their job. If a customer replies to say the new date creates a problem for their installation schedule, the installation manager sees that immediately and can follow up directly.
Supplier delays happen. Customer complaints about not being told don’t have to.
IBIOS links every order to every affected job. Automatic late-delivery alerts to customers are coming soon. Early access by waiting list.