How to plan to a fixed release date with supplier and platform lead times
Plan a release around a date you cannot move: enter supplier, plant and platform lead times as tasks or lags, fix the start and the release, and see on a Gantt chart whether the plan fits and what decides the date.
When the release date is announced and the plant, the distributor or a platform sets part of the clock, the question is whether the work fits. This guide shows how to put outside lead times into a Gantt chart, fix the dates that are fixed and read the result.
The short version
- Enter an outside wait as a task when there is work in it, and as a lag when it is only a gap.
- Fix the first start and the release milestone; the plan is scheduled forward, and a conflict flag shows when it cannot fit.
- Use the critical path to see which wait decides the release date.
- Leave buffer before each hand-off, because a rejected sample sends the work back while the outside clock keeps running.
- A timeline schedules the work; it does not clear rights or bind a supplier to a date.
Lead times you do not control
A fixed release date is usually set by someone else's clock. A plant needs a number of weeks to make copies. A distributor wants the finished product a set time before release day. A press or review window needs the product in hand early. None of that work is done by your team, and none of it can be shortened by working harder. It can only be started on time.
The method is to write those waits down as part of the plan, in one of two ways. A wait that has work inside it, such as test copies and a production run, is a task with a length. A wait that is only a gap, such as the days a distributor needs between delivery and release, is a lag on the dependency. Then fix the two dates that are genuinely fixed: the first start and the release milestone. QueryChart schedules forward from the earliest fixed start, so if the chain of tasks cannot finish by the release date, the release is flagged as a conflict with the earliest date the dependencies allow. You learn that the date does not fit while there is still time to change something.
Once the plan fits, turn on the critical path under View to see the chain that decides the date. Often it is an outside wait, not the creative work, which tells you where an early decision is worth the most. The last step is to leave room before each hand-off to the outside party, because a sample, proof or delivery that is rejected sends the work back and the outside clock does not wait for you.
The example builds the album release template in stages. The durations are illustrative; replace them with the quotes and deadlines you are given. A timeline schedules the work. It does not clear rights or samples, and it does not make an agreement with a plant or a platform binding.
If the release is a book, a film or a game, the same method applies. See /templates/book-publishing-gantt-chart, /templates/video-production-gantt-chart and /templates/game-development-gantt-chart for plans of that kind, /guides/gantt-chart-dependencies for the link types, /guides/gantt-chart-buffer-time for room in a plan, and /guides/review-rounds-gantt-chart for approval rounds before a hand-off.
An album release plan, built in stages
Twenty-two tasks in four groups. Durations are illustrative; set your own. Open the spreadsheet panel to see the rows behind each stage.
Recording overlaps, then the masters gate
"Record vocals and overdubs" starts 5 working days into "Record the basic tracks", and "Mix the album" starts 6 days into the overdubs. After the mix come "Approve the mixes" (3), "Set the track order and gaps" (2) and "Master the album" (4), so "Masters approved" is reached on working day 38.
Cover work runs beside the music
"Commission the cover and sleeve art" (10) starts as soon as "Choose the songs and finish demos" ends, so it has no effect on the date. "Lay out the sleeve and credits" and "Set up barcodes and track codes" wait for "Set the track order and gaps".
The outside waits
"Make and approve test copies" (10) needs "Masters approved" and the sleeve layout, and "Manufacture the physical copies" (15) follows it, so "Copies in the warehouse" is reached on day 63. "Deliver the album to the distributor" ends on day 41 and leads into the release with a 10-day lag.
Release day, fixed
"Press lead time" (15) ends on day 55. "Release day" waits for the warehouse, the press and the delivery lag, and the warehouse is last at day 63. Give "Release day" a fixed Start and the plan flags a conflict if 63 working days from the first start is later than that date.
What happens at the hand-off: a sample goes out and may come back
A Gantt chart gives "Make and approve test copies" one bar. The flowchart shows the decision inside that bar.
The sample goes out
"Pull or produce the requested samples", "Ship samples to the customer with reference numbers" and "Customer reviews samples against their expectations" are three steps in a row. On a Gantt chart they become one task with one length.
A decision and a loop
At "Customer approves the samples as presented?" the answer "No" leads to "Customer requests alternative samples or a custom match?", and "Pull or produce alternative samples" goes back to the shipping step. A Gantt chart cannot draw that loop.
Approved, or the request is closed
"Yes" leads to "Log the approved sample reference against the order" and "Retain a physical or digital reference sample for production matching". The path ends at "Sample approved and referenced, or request closed". Give the task on the Gantt chart a duration that allows for one more round.
How it works
List the outside parties and what each one needs
For each plant, distributor, platform or reviewer, write down what they need from you, by when, and how long they take. Those become tasks or lags, and the things they need become the tasks that lead into them.
Enter waits as tasks or as lags
A wait with work inside it, such as manufacturing, is a task with a length in working days. A pure gap, such as a distributor's lead time before release, goes on the dependency as a lag, for example 16+10 in Depends on, where the 10 is working days.
Fix the first start and the release
Give the first task a fixed Start and the release milestone a fixed Start on the announced day. Leave every other date to the dependencies. The plan is scheduled forward from the earliest fixed Start, never backwards from the release.
Read the conflict flag
If the chain is longer than the time between the two dates, the release is flagged with the earliest date the dependencies allow. Compare it with the date you need, then shorten a wait, start earlier or move the announcement.
Turn on the critical path
Switch on Critical path in the View menu. The lit chain is what decides the date. A wait you cannot shorten on that chain is where an early decision, such as booking the plant slot, matters most.
Add buffer before each hand-off and share the plan
Add a task or extra days before each hand-off to an outside party, put the person responsible in People, and share the chart as a link so the plant, distributor and team see the same dates.
Mistakes to avoid
Counting backwards from the release in your head
QueryChart schedules forward only. If you subtract lead times from the release date by hand, mistakes are easy to make. Enter the waits as tasks and lags, fix the dates that are fixed, and let the flag tell you whether it fits.
Treating the supplier's quote as a promise
A lead time is what the supplier says today. The chart does not check it or keep the quote. Note the source and date of each figure in the task notes and revisit the plan when it changes.
Planning one pass through a sample or proof
A hand-off that can be rejected is a loop, and a Gantt chart cannot draw a loop. Give the task a duration that allows for one more round, or add a separate task for it, and keep the loop itself in a flowchart.
Assuming the plan clears rights or contracts
Dates on a chart do not license a sample, approve a cover or bind a supplier. Add those as tasks if they gate the release, and track the paperwork where it belongs.
Open the album release Gantt chart
Open the album release template, change the lead times to yours, fix the release date and see whether the plan fits.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a supplier lead time to a Gantt chart?
If there is work in it, such as manufacturing, add a task with a length in working days and link it to the tasks before and after. If it is only a gap, add a lag to the dependency instead.
How do I know whether the plan fits my release date?
Give the first task a fixed Start and the release milestone a fixed Start. A fixed start that conflicts with a dependency is flagged, and the earliest date the dependencies allow is shown, so you can compare it with the date you need.
Can the chart work backwards from the release date?
No. It schedules forward from the earliest fixed start. Fixing the release date lets it tell you when the forward plan runs past it.
Which task decides the release date?
Switch on Critical path in the View menu. It lights the chain of tasks that sets the finish date. Selecting a task also lights its upstream and downstream chain.
How do I show a sample or proof that can be rejected?
Not on the Gantt chart, which cannot draw a loop. Give the task a duration that allows for another round, and draw the approval and rework steps in a flowchart such as /templates/customer-sample-approval-process.