If your client has a drop dead date for delivery and you cannot guarantee it, walk away. You might win one order, but if you miss that delivery date, you probably won't get a shot at the next.

Honesty will win you more friends than anything.

Having said that, there are a lot of ways to grease the skids and make the impossible possible. Work with your logistics team and if the money is there, look at air freight......a dedicated flat bed....there are lots of ways to get metal moved.

Use your contacts....Linkedin or otherwise. If a client has a plant shutdown situation, money is often no object...read PROFIT....but understand, you may have to take calls at home, after hours and really stay on top of a situation.

If it fails, the failure is all on you and your company.

Be careful which ones you commit to but if you do, its all in till the metal gets where it needs to be, but the commission and profit can be massive if you're willing to follow the metal from start to finish