Cabinet lead times: what affects them and how to plan a job

Our standard lead time

Most orders are made in 5–7 business days. The clock starts when the deposit or payment is confirmed, not when the quote is written or the order is placed. Business days leave out weekends.

Every order in the dealer portal shows an estimated ship date, worked out from the order itself, so you can give your client a date rather than a range.

What can slow an order down

The estimated ship date on each order already reflects what is on that order, so check it in the portal before you give the client a date.

Most delays happen on the paperwork side, and they are the ones you can control:

• The deposit or payment. Production waits for it, so send it as soon as the client confirms.
• Late changes. A change after the order is placed can mean re-checking the order. It is faster to settle sizes and finishes on the quote.
• Questions on the order. If something on an order is unclear, our office asks in the portal. A quick answer keeps the order moving.
• Missing details. A quote without hinge sides, a delivery address or a requested delivery date cannot go to production. Fill these in before you place the order, not after the deposit is sent.

Work backwards from the install date

For a kitchen or a whole building, plan from the day the installers need the cabinets:

1. Install date: when the room is ready for cabinets: drywall finished, floors in or protected, rough plumbing and electrical done.
2. Delivery: a few days before the install, so the cabinets can sit in the room before installing (see below).
3. Ship date: work back from delivery.
4. Deposit date: count back the business days of the lead time shown for the order, and leave a margin.
5. Order final: sizes and finishes confirmed with the client, the quote read back line by line, before the deposit date.

Let cabinets sit 24 hours in the room where they will be installed before installing, and keep the room between 50 and 85°F and 30 to 55% relative humidity.

A worked example

Say the installers can start on a Monday. Plan delivery for the Thursday or Friday before, so the cabinets can sit in the room over the weekend. Allow a day or two between the ship date and delivery for scheduling. With a 5–7 business day build, the deposit should be confirmed about two weeks before the install date, and the client's final sign-off on sizes and finishes should come a few days before that.

When the schedule moves

Construction schedules slip. If the room will not be ready, tell us before the ship date so delivery can be rescheduled, rather than receiving cabinets into a space that is still wet or dusty. If the schedule moves up, check the estimated ship date in the portal before promising the client an earlier install.

Multifamily and phased jobs

On apartment buildings and phased projects, cabinets do not all need to arrive at once. Multi-unit projects get phased delivery: deliveries follow the build sequence, by floor, by building or by phase, and each unit's cabinets are packed together so crews can install one apartment at a time.

Place each phase's order early enough that its ship date lands before the crew needs it, and keep a dry, climate-controlled place on site for any delivery that arrives early. For more on multifamily planning, see our guide to planning cabinets for multifamily projects.

Delivery and pickup

We deliver within 100 miles of Vineland, NJ, to the showroom or straight to the jobsite, or you can pick up at our factory. If the job is farther out, contact us before you promise a date. When a delivery arrives, check it against the packing slip and report damage or shortages within 48 hours with a photo, so a replacement part can be made without holding up the install.

Telling the client

• Quote the estimated ship date from the portal, and say it starts from the deposit.
• Mention any choice that adds time before the client makes it, not after.
• Build a few days of margin into the install date for the unexpected: weather, inspections, a late appliance.