Change Orders

Construction projects rarely go exactly as planned. Material quantities change, specifications get revised, and timelines shift. The change order system lets you modify existing orders in a controlled way, with version tracking and clear pricing rules.

You can request changes to any confirmed order that has not been fully delivered. Changes are submitted through the portal or by contacting your account manager directly. Common change types include:

• Quantity increases — you need more of a material already on the order
• Quantity decreases — you need less, or a project scope has been reduced
• Material substitutions — swapping one product for an equivalent alternative
• Delivery schedule changes — adjusting when or where materials should arrive
• Adding new line items — materials discovered as needed after the initial order

Every change request creates a Change Order record linked to the original order. This preserves the original order details while documenting what changed, when, who requested it, and the financial impact.

Pricing on change orders follows specific rules that reflect how the building materials market works in Egypt:

Quantity increases are priced at the current market price, not the original quote price. If steel has gone up 8% since your original order, additional steel is quoted at today's rate. This protects both parties from market volatility.

Quantity decreases may incur a cancellation fee on the reduced portion. The fee depends on how far fulfillment has progressed — 0% if the supplier purchase order has not been sent, up to 25-50% if materials are already prepared or in transit. Non-cancellable items (cut-to-spec rebar, ready-mix concrete, custom fabrication) cannot be reduced once the supplier has begun production.

Material substitutions are treated as a decrease on the original item plus an increase of the new item, with both pricing rules applying.

The system maintains a complete version history of every order. The original order is version 1, and each approved change order increments the version. You can view any previous version to see what the order looked like at any point in time.

This audit trail is important for project accounting, especially on large construction projects with multiple change orders over months of delivery. The original quote, each change order, and the final delivered quantities are all linked and traceable.

Change orders that reduce the margin below the approved floor trigger an internal re-approval. Your sales representative may need manager sign-off before confirming a change that significantly affects pricing. For straightforward changes within normal parameters, approval is immediate.

Once approved, the system updates supplier purchase orders as needed. If new suppliers are required for added items, the procurement team handles sourcing with the same parallel-outreach process used for the original quote. You receive an updated order confirmation reflecting all changes.

If you have provided post-dated cheques as payment instruments for the original order and the change order reduces the total, the difference must be reconciled. Cheques cannot simply be stopped — under Egyptian law, stopping payment on a cheque is a criminal offense. Your account manager will coordinate the financial adjustment, which may involve returning original cheques and issuing new ones for the revised amount, or applying the credit to a future order.