Set made-to-order lead times around your production week.
A ready-to-ship item and a custom piece should not inherit the same production promise. Set lead times around how your studio makes each product, then show the resulting dispatch date on its page.
Start with the production rule most items share
Use a default lead time for your usual workflow. Count production working days, then define which weekdays your studio actually operates. The timezone and daily cutoff determine when a new order enters that schedule.
Check the rule against your real capacity. A date calculated from a lead time is only as useful as the lead time you maintain; Dispatchly does not measure your workshop workload or stock of materials.
Add exceptions where the process changes
Use collection rules for groups with a shared process, such as print-on-demand or handmade goods. Use product rules when one item needs its own schedule. In Dispatchly, a product rule takes precedence over a collection rule, then the default applies.
Add holidays and blackout dates for closures on any plan. Review exceptional dates before busy periods instead of relying on a generic message that asks every customer to interpret a range of weeks.
Before you finish
- Choose a realistic default production lead time.
- Group shared production processes into collection rules.
- Check individual product overrides and planned closures.
Questions before you start
Does Dispatchly manage the production queue?
No. It communicates a dispatch date based on configured rules; it does not schedule workshop jobs.
Can I skip holidays?
Holidays, blackout dates and working-week settings are included in every plan.