The ‘Too Many Cooks’ problem: why multi-supplier projects get held to a stop.
In 2026, one of the biggest pressures on signage and brand-implementation teams isn’t design or manufacture. It’s coordination. It’s the admin and risk created between suppliers.
Because the more partners a project touches, the more handovers you inherit and the more problems hide in the gaps.
Before anything is made… timelines are already tight
Even before fabrication starts, approvals can shape everything.
In England, major planning decisions are meant to be determined within 13 weeks, but government data shows that in July–September 2025, only 19% of major applications were decided within the statutory 13 weeks (even though 90% were decided within 13 weeks or an agreed extended timeframe).
13 weeks is the target – but extensions are the norm. Only 19% of major applications hit the original deadline, with most decisions relying on agreed time extensions.
In other words: extensions are common, and programmes often need to plan for uncertainty. And it isn’t just anecdotal – recent reporting has highlighted how widely “time extensions” (performance agreements) are used across councils.
So if your rollout plan depends on “everything going to schedule”… you’re already exposed.
Where projects become hard to manage
Most signage projects don’t go wrong because people don’t care. They go wrong because delivery becomes fragmented and stretched across multiple supply partners:
one supplier surveys
another produces artwork/drawings
another advises on planning
another fabricates
another installs
another resolves snags
And each step increases the chance of rework. And with each rework comes additional cost!
70% of projects exceeded budgets, with average overruns of 18%.
Do this next time:
If you’re about to kick off a refresh or rebrand across an estate, here are 3 simple actions that reduce risk fast:
Spot the “rework hotspots” (where decisions are often reversed late-stage)
Assign one owner for delivery so quality, timelines and accountability don’t split across multiple suppliers
One partner. One point of contact. One vision.
As a concept-to-completion branding partner, Astley’s aim is simple: remove the coordination headache by delivering critical services in-house — from early-stage surveys and design support through to manufacture and installation.
Including us at the outset of any project means we can potentially save costs, unnecessary extensions and mitigate potential risk by:
Reduce risk
Early consultancy and surveying to prepare sites properly (including practical considerations like access + power locations)
When teams reduce supplier handovers, three things tend to improve quickly:
Better decisions earlier – planning considerations, structural requirements and access constraints get factored in before the job is “locked.”
Stronger quality control throughout – instead of checking quality at the end, it gets controlled at each stage.
Less follow-up fatigue – one route for answers means fewer emails, fewer chasers, and fewer “it wasn’t us.”
If you’re about to start a rollout, here’s a simple question worth asking internally:
“How many handovers are we creating – and which ones are creating rework?”
Because even reducing one major handover can cut days (sometimes weeks) of project management effort – and reduce the unplanned costs that come from revisions, returns and remedials.
