I know what you mean about long lead-time items. When I worked at Hughes and we would win a satellite contract, the first thing they would do, almost before they got the contract, was order the long lead time parts. Most of the time they are long lead time, not because they take a long time to build, but because the manufacturer will not even start up a production line till they have enough orders to make a profit. You submit an order and it will sit in their inbox until other customers give them enough orders to open the line. If your lucky your order is the one that makes it worthwhile to start the line and you get the parts rather fast.