supplier-chase

# Chasing a supplier A chase that says "any update?" gets an answer that says "we're looking into it". Ask for a commitment. ## Every chase carries PO number · what was ordered and how many · the date promised · how many days late it is now · what it is blocking, in customer orders rather than internally. ## Ask one question **"What date will this ship, and what quantity?"** Not a status. A date and a number can be planned around; an update cannot. ## Escalate on a clock, not on feeling Day 1 late: the buyer contact. Day 3: their manager, with the original request attached. Day 7: sourcing, with the customer impact quantified. Say at each step what the next step will be and when. ## Always ask the second question **"Is any of it available now?"** A partial shipment usually clears the urgent orders and nobody offers it unprompted. ## Never Accept "next week" without a date, or promise a customer a date the supplier has not committed to in writing.