Lead time is quoted from the wrong point. Suppliers measure to shipment; buyers care about the date jobs run. Everything between those two points is where schedules go missing.
What listed stock actually runs
From our own inventory today: H100 HGX nodes ship in about 7 days, H200 in about 10, B300 in about 7 for held stock and up to 50 days where the line comes through channel allocation, and GB300 NVL72 builds at about 25 days for a fully racked L11 configuration. RTX-class hardware moving through distribution runs about 15 days.
Those are ex-works figures for verified positions. They are not the same as a delivery date.
The four legs nobody quotes
Freight, which at node weights and values has its own booking lead time and is on the critical path rather than beside it. Customs and duties at the destination, which can add days or weeks depending on the route and whether an Importer of Record is already appointed. Facility readiness, because hardware arriving before the hall is commissioned simply sits. And commissioning itself, the gap between racked and running.
A 7-day ex-works quote is routinely a 5 to 8 week project once those four are counted honestly.
Why quoted times slip
Most often because the position was never firm. Allocation gets quoted before it is secured, on the reasonable assumption that it will be. Sometimes it is not.
The tell is specificity. A supplier holding real stock can tell you condition, location and quantity without checking. One quoting a position they hope to secure answers in ranges and gets vaguer under pressure.
What shortens it
A complete requirement, and compliance done up front. Buyers who can answer destination, end user and use case immediately are cheaper for a supplier to serve, so they get served first when capacity tightens. Appointing an Importer of Record early removes the most common border delay. And deciding the facility before the hardware means nothing arrives into a hall that is not ready.
Every line we list is verified with the holder before it appears, and the lead time you see is the one we will hold to. Current positions are on the live inventory, and the import side is the import and IOR desk.