Supply problems, lack of raw materials - as of October 2022

The thread title expresses my actual question and there were already answers that I have also heard in personal conversations with one or the other (if you plan properly, (almost) everything should work quite well).

That is simply not correct. The biggest current problem is the shortage of personnel. At least in our region in southern Bavaria. For months, most companies have been operating with a maximum of 2/3 of the staff. Sometimes even less or none at all, because you cannot send personnel home due to Corona. If in a medium-sized company one of two senior journeymen is absent and the new apprentices are not the most capable, then simply nothing works. An installer told us that their priority right now is repairs instead of new construction, because you can hardly leave a daycare center unattended or let the lifting station in a nursing home fail for four weeks. An alarm and locking system installer just postponed us because his most capable employee can only work part-time now, as his wife is seriously ill and he has to take care of her and the children more. First of all, seek a conversation and do not immediately assume that it is all poor planning and greed.

I am not concerned with the expansion of the house and the associated trades at the moment. What matters to me is why the construction of the house in the factory is dragging on so drastically that even the installation date is uncertain. Corona or not, every company has to deal with that, but that really shouldn’t be the problem... As I already said, I suspect something else...

Also, the delay until the selection phase only costs us more time and money, even though our choices could have been ordered long ago.

Don’t get me wrong, with this thread I want to check how things are going elsewhere in order to get a realistic overview for myself. I need something to follow up on; otherwise, they could keep playing this game with us for another 5 years.

One cannot make a reliable forecast at the moment; that is the only reliable forecast that can be made. Everyone is taking it day by day right now. There may be outages due to Corona, there may simply be outages due to other illnesses. But there can also already be drastic cutbacks in production or even shutdowns because companies simply can no longer afford to pay for energy.

Anyone who thinks "That can't possibly be" or "The companies must have it under control" is welcome to apply. We are currently desperately looking for people to procure material for us, which we cannot obtain from any supplier at reasonable prices in the foreseeable future due to shortages. And if we have to buy that stuff at astronomical prices, then we might as well forget it. In the end, we all work to make money from it. If we have to bring money along, there’s no need to get up in the morning.

Pulling it out until the sample selection just costs us time and money again, even though our selection could have been ordered long ago.

What does your representative say about that? I would give him a kick for his fat commission. Such a late appointment at the sample selection center can hardly be seriously justified either by endemic Corona or supply difficulties.

I don't want a forecast, I want to hear how things are going with others, we are not the only ones building a prefabricated house here...

That's the point, the representative says he has nothing to do with this scheduling, but even the business owner already referred to the employee who schedules the appointments in June... They only keep referring back and this employee coldly says she has no earlier appointment available...

It is also a misconception that the GU clicks on "Buy" once the sampling is complete. Where is he supposed to store all the material until mid-2023? Especially since his warranty with the manufacturer starts as soon as the goods arrive, not when he installs them.

Some people have expectations here...

PS:
It's the same for others.