VP sourcing and supply chain
Owns the long-lead orders and the date.
A verified lead time on every long-lead line, and the alternatives already screened against the design.
Zinit Industries Data centers
Sourcing for data-center builds that keeps the go-live date.
Every month a data center runs late costs about 5% of the project. Zinit finds the long-lead lines that will be late, a supplier who can deliver sooner, and runs the bidding so the shortest delivery wins.
- 103M+ supplier and company database
- First RFP in under an hour
- Your team directs and approves
Example build, 40 MW phaseon track critical path
- 5%of the project
for every month a data center runs late.
- $14.2Ma month
the developer’s direct cost of a month’s delay on a 60 MW build (STL Partners).
- 128–144weeks
the wait for a power transformer today; about 50 before 2020 (Wood Mackenzie).
A month of delay on a 60 MW build
$14.2M
Before debt carry. STL Partners: more than a 25% decline in IRR.
Who decides on a build, and what each of them gets.
Bought by a committee, built by a chain of parties who each own a piece of the date.
VP construction and the EPC
Owns the shell and the fit-out.
Delivery dates set against the milestones that need them.
CFO and the investment committee
Owns the deposits and the penalties.
The cost of a slip per line, formula in view, forfeited deposits included.
Owner’s engineer
Owns the specification and every supplier on it.
Candidates screened against the spec before anyone calls them; the veto stays theirs.
Equipment manufacturers
Owns the factory slots.
A competitive event scored on delivery date, so the earlier slot wins.
Utility
Owns energization, and the list of manufacturers it accepts.
A search limited to that list from the start.
Five things that go wrong, and what Zinit does about each.
The shell is finished; the transformer is a year away.
What Zinit doesEvery long-lead line checked against its need-by date on day one.
One factory per category, no time to qualify another.
What Zinit does103M+ suppliers searched against the spec; the factory’s quote confirms the slot.
Price wins the bid, the date loses.
What Zinit doesBids scored on delivery date as well as price.
The owner’s engineer can veto any new name.
What Zinit doesCandidates screened first; the review runs while bids are in.
Nobody can tell the CFO what a month costs, line by line.
What Zinit doesCost of delay per line, formula in view, deposits included.
Three moves that give the date back.
103M+ suppliers, AI agents that find and screen them and run the bidding, and procurement people beside your team.
See which lines will be late
Each long-lead line’s delivery date against the date the site needs it.
The risk to the date, in weeks and money.
Find a supplier who can deliver sooner
A factory that meets the spec and ships earlier, confirmed by its own quote.
A vetted alternative with a quoted slot.
Run the bidding on delivery date
Set up in under an hour; bids scored on date and price; your team awards.
Weeks back on the schedule.
From reference design to a recovered date, in six steps.
Click a step. Zinit is connected to your project drive, schedule and ERP; nothing is uploaded.
Connected sources, already read
- Project drivePDF Reference design, rev. C — 214 pagesread
- Project driveDWG Substation and room layoutsread
- Equipment registerXLSX Equipment list, 24 linesread
- Primavera P6P6 Master schedule, 1,140 activitiessynced
- ERPPO Purchase orders and slot reservationssynced
Equipment read from the design, linked to the schedule
| Line | Qty | Spec | Named supplier | Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power transformer | 2 | 60 MVA, 132/33 kV | Incumbent OEM | Utility substation | p. 14 |
| MV switchgear | 6 | 33 kV, 2500 A | Incumbent OEM | Electrical rooms | p. 22 |
| Generator set | 8 | 3 MW, diesel | Incumbent OEM | Generator yard | p. 31 |
| UPS system | 12 | 1.6 MW, static | Incumbent OEM | Electrical rooms | p. 27 |
| Chiller | 6 | 2.5 MW, water-cooled | Incumbent OEM | Central plant | p. 40 |
Lead times against the date needed on site
| Line | Lead time | Source | Delivery | Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power transformer | 128 weeks | Quote, 3 Sep | Week 130 | Week 106 |
| MV switchgear | 64 weeks | Quote, 28 Aug | Week 70 | Week 100 |
| Generator set | 80 weeks | OEM portal, 1 Sep | Week 88 | Week 102 |
| UPS system | 40 weeks | Quote, 3 Sep | Week 48 | Week 104 |
| Chiller | 44 weeks | Quote, 20 Aug | Week 54 | Week 100 |
Forecast completion: week 130. The transformer is on the critical path.
Delay against the original deadline
Original deadlineWeek 108
ForecastWeek 130
Delay22 weeks
Cost of delay$12.2M / month
| Cost of delay, per month | Basis | |
|---|---|---|
| Lost lease revenue | 40 MW × $190/kW/month | assumption |
| Debt carry | Drawn loan × rate | assumption |
| Standby contractors | Extended general conditions | assumption |
| Contract penalties | From the tenant agreement | assumption |
| Deposits forfeited and re-engineering | If a line moves supplier | assumption |
Two ways to recover the date
110 weeks against 128, spec-screened; the engineer reviews while bids are in.
- Recovers
- 18 of 22 weeks
- Lines
- 1
- Delay cost avoided
- $50M
Switchgear, generators, chillers bid on date and price.
- Recovers
- 4 weeks
- Lines
- 3
- Delay cost avoided
- $11M
Supplier Search, prefilled from the design
- Power transformer
- 60 MVA, 132/33 kV
- Qty 2
- Needed by week 106
- Lead time under 112 weeks
| Supplier | Region | Lead time | Certificates | Spec match | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transformer OEM A | Europe | 110 weeks | IEC 60076 | Full | RFQ reply, 2 Sep |
| Transformer OEM B | North America | 118 weeks | IEEE C57 | Full | RFQ reply, 29 Aug |
| Transformer OEM C | East Asia | 104 weeks | IEC 60076 | Partial | RFQ reply, 1 Sep |
Forecast moves to week 112, delay cost falls to $11M.
The wait for the equipment, before 2020 and today.
Lead time is the wait from order to delivery. Grey: before 2020. Pink: today.
Large power transformersOne US mill for the steel; hand-wound coils
Medium-voltage switchgearBreaker mechanisms, custom buswork
Standby generators, over 3 MWEngine castings booked years out
UPS systemsPower modules compete with EV and solar
Chilled-water plantCompressor motors, heat-exchanger tubing
The five categories that decide the schedule, and the market for each.
The critical-path lines, the lever on each, and the manufacturers the search runs across.
Power transformers
Wait today128–144 weeks
A second qualified OEM, or a unit built to a standard the design already accepts.
Suppliers in this market
Medium-voltage switchgear
Wait today52–80 weeks
A date-weighted event across the platforms that meet the spec.
Suppliers in this market
Standby generators, over 3 MW
Wait today90–110 weeks
Bid across the major engine builders. 1.5–3 MW sets: 50–78 weeks.
Suppliers in this market
UPS systems
Wait today30–60 weeks
Committed early; modular units from a second source close a gap.
Suppliers in this market
Chillers
Wait today48–60 weeks
The plant gates the fit-out; compete it across the large-chiller makers.
Suppliers in this market
- Johnson Controls
Established manufacturers in each category, shown to illustrate the market. They are not customers, partners or users of Zinit.
The questions a sourcing team asks first.
We run the schedule in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project, and procurement in our ERP.
Keep them. Zinit reads what you have and hands the recovered dates back; an overlay for the long-lead lines, not a new system of record.
The OEMs will not share their factory queue with a third party.
They do not have to. Lead times come from the quotes, FAT documents and portals you already receive; an alternative’s slot is confirmed by that factory’s own quote.
Our owner's engineer will not accept a supplier that is not on the reference design.
They keep the veto. Zinit screens on spec, certificates, region and lead time; your engineer qualifies while the bids are in, and a utility’s approved list limits the search from the start.
We hold slot reservations with deposits, and frame agreements with our incumbents.
Nothing here cancels them. The second source is for the line whose slot already misses the date, and any forfeited deposit sits inside the recovery calculation.
What does it cost?
Zinit is supplier-funded and free to buyers, the same as the rest of the platform: the suppliers who compete for your business fund it.
What does Zinit not do?
It does not manufacture, hold inventory or reserve slots, and it does not replace your schedule, your ERP or your engineer’s judgement. Sometimes no factory beats the incumbent’s date; then you know it in weeks.
Start with one reference design and one schedule.
See which lines put your date at risk before you commit to anything. Your team directs and approves; Zinit’s procurement people work alongside yours.
Sources
- STL Partners (2025): USD 14.2M per month of delay on a 60 MW US build; IRR decline of more than 25%
- The Fast Mode (STL Partners, 2026): the composition of that month
- MGRID (2026), Wood Mackenzie Q2 2025 survey: power transformers 128 weeks, generator step-up units 144
- Terrapin Consulting Group (2026): switchgear 52–80, large generators 90–110, UPS 30–60 weeks
- DC Atlas: chillers 48–60 weeks, up to 85