Bonded deliveries fail on documentation far more often than on availability.

Bonded stores move under customs control, and the delivery depends on the paperwork being right before the goods leave the warehouse. Where a bonded delivery slips, the cause is almost never that the items were unavailable.

The recurring problems are straightforward. The vessel's details on the requisition do not match the details on the customs declaration — usually a name, IMO number or flag transcribed differently. The quantities requested exceed what is permitted for the crew size and voyage length. Or the order arrives too close to ETD for the declaration to clear in time.

The last one is worth planning for specifically. A bonded order needs more lead time than an equivalent order of ordinary stores, because the customs step happens before dispatch rather than at delivery. A provisions order placed the day before arrival will usually be met; a bonded order placed the day before arrival often will not.

Send the crew list with the bonded requisition, state the intended voyage, and check that the vessel particulars on the order match the certificate of registry exactly. Those three things remove most of the friction.