What Is Expediting? Order Follow-Up

Expediting is the systematic monitoring and follow-up of purchase orders from placement through delivery. The expediter tracks the vendor’s manufacturing progress, identifies potential delays, escalates issues, and takes corrective action to ensure materials arrive at site on time. Expediting is a core procurement function in EPC projects where late material delivery directly delays construction milestones.

A typical EPC piping project has 100-400 active purchase orders running simultaneously. Without structured expediting, delays accumulate undetected until materials fail to arrive at site.

Types of Expediting

Type	Method	Frequency	Best For
Desk expediting	Phone, email, vendor portal	Weekly or bi-weekly	Standard commodity orders (pipes, fittings, flanges)
Field expediting	Physical visit to vendor’s facility	Monthly or at key milestones	Critical and long-lead items (valves, specialty alloys)
Emergency expediting	Intensive daily follow-up, escalation to management	As needed	Orders at risk of critical delay

Expediting Milestones

Expediters track progress against predefined milestones. Each milestone has an expected date per the PO delivery schedule.

Milestone	Description	Typical Checkpoint
PO acknowledgment	Vendor confirms acceptance of PO terms	Week 1
Raw material procurement	Steel billets, plates, forgings ordered and received	Week 2-6
Manufacturing start	Production begins (rolling, forging, machining)	Week 4-8
In-process inspection	Hold/witness point per ITP	During manufacturing
Manufacturing complete	All items produced and ready for final inspection	Week 8-16
Final inspection	Third-party release inspection	1-2 weeks after completion
Packing and marking	Items packed per PO requirements, shipping marks applied	1 week after release
Shipment	Goods dispatched per Incoterms	Per PO schedule
Document submission	MTCs, test reports, shipping documents submitted	Within 2-4 weeks of shipment

Expediting Report

Expediters issue periodic status reports to the project team. A standard report includes:

Report Field	Content
PO number	Reference number
Vendor	Supplier name and location
Item description	Material type and key specs
PO quantity	Ordered quantity
Promised delivery	Contractual delivery date
Current status	Manufacturing stage, % complete
Forecast delivery	Updated estimate based on current progress
Variance	Days ahead or behind schedule
Risk level	Green / Amber / Red
Action required	Escalation, alternative sourcing, acceleration

Pro Tip

Focus expediting resources on the critical path. Not every PO needs weekly follow-up. Classify orders by criticality: long-lead items, project-critical materials, and items with historically unreliable vendors get field expediting. Standard commodity orders with reliable suppliers need desk expediting only. Over-expediting wastes resources; under-expediting misses delays.

Common Causes of Vendor Delay

Cause	Frequency	Mitigation
Raw material shortage	High	Verify vendor’s material stock before PO or during kick-off meeting
Production capacity overload	Medium	Check vendor’s order backlog during bid evaluation
Inspection failure / rework	Medium	Review vendor’s quality history; specify clear ITP with hold points
Sub-supplier delay	Medium	Request sub-supplier list and lead times during TBE
Documentation delays	High	Set document submission milestones with penalties in PO
Shipping / logistics issues	Medium	Confirm vessel booking 4-6 weeks before shipment

Effective expediting is preventive, not reactive. The expediter identifies problems before they affect the project schedule. For the procurement documents that drive the expediting process and hydrostatic testing milestones that affect manufacturing timelines, see the detailed guides.

Read the full guide to pipe classes and specifications