Running out of material can be very costly. The “opportunity cost,” or lost potential income, has a negative effect on business. It means taking away time from other jobs in order to go and reorder material. This is lost time and money since the installer will have to make a trip back to finish installing the missing tile and other jobs will be delayed.
In addition, missing material can be a major inconvenience to your clients. If the job is a commercial project, the client could lose potential revenue (opportunity cost) every day the installation is delayed. Homeowners may not lose revenue, but they may become frustrated and annoyed, and decide not to recommend you (the installer) to other potential clients.
So in the long run, it’s cheap insurance to order extra material rather than taking the risk of coming up short!