Ford has forgotten who the customers are

[Turtle]

The logistics delivery perspective makes me smile. Do you really think that the train goes to small town America. No it goes to Baltimore as an example and the railroad cars have multiple models. In Baltimore it leaves by truck full of many differentl Ford models headed to dealers not one dealer many dealers. What i am hearing you say is very different from what goes on. On the differing Models of the Maverick perhaps when parts became so constrained they should have asked us what color do you want your black Maverick. Anyone in manufacturing will tell you if you reduce your Skews you reduce time and increase profit. Worked for Henry Ford and worked for the VW Beetle. So raise the price by 1k and give everyone the 360, cruise and Sync,, Just a single interior design. Everything else can be taken care of aftermarket and the dealers. What happens in 2023 when they have to meet South America standards out of the same plant. inthink Ford has created a great truck and a big problem for years to come. That said it may increase the resale value of our Mavericks.

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[Redneck Garage]

Personally I would love to see the logistics on folks with multiple orders. My dealer didnt require any down payment only a DL and signature. If one wanted a Maverick as quick as possible why wouldn't a person put in four or five different orders with different dealers due to the mystery dealer allocation scheme ? I see quite a few folks on the forum stating they have two orders with two different dealers - many of these will eventually be dealer stock units and I question if Ford actually allows this so they can say " all retail orders will be filled before dealer orders" - I can promise one thing, there hasn't been any dealers "cancel" a customer order even after refunding a down payment.

 

[Redneck Garage]

What happens in 2023 when they have to meet South America standards out of the same plant. inthink Ford has created a great truck and a big problem for years to come. That said it may increase the resale value of our Mavericks.

They are going to move production of the Transit Connect to the same plant as well which will mean less Mavericks as well.

 

[samspritzer]

The allocation system is just one variable the computer takes into consideration when scheduling. If anything, that along with the priority number is probably a secondary factor in the overall program. The #1 factor? The number of orders and their inventory requirements vs. an estimate of the inventory fulfillment plus labor requirements to build. And the inventory fulfillment system is probably based on the JIT model.
When you consider the many different variations of the product and there are only so many paths the assembly line can take , the program probably gives priority to the highest output by configuration. Once they have that, they can predict how many vehicles they can build based on configurations.
All we are seeing is the scheduling for the factory. Then the allocations and priorities come into play as to which order gets pinged. Big dealers probably have more orders but only a percentage of them can be fulfilled per month. If you do the math, it seems like mom and pop dealers stand a better chance so it's really how high you are in their pecking order. And that is where the priority comes into play. And if the program is sophisticated enough, even though the dealer sees you as a 10 the whole way through, the priority gets adjusted based on how long the order has been in the system (adjusted for all of the flip flopping people are doing these days), sight unseen.
Ideally, if Ford really wants to spare us grief and false expectations, they easily estimate when our vehicles MIGHT be built. And of course, I am sure their legal beagles will want some sort of fine print that absolves them of any liability if they miss the mark.

 

[Lone Star Proud]

The allocation system is just one variable the computer takes into consideration when scheduling. If anything, that along with the priority number is probably a secondary factor in the overall program. The #1 factor? The number of orders and their inventory requirements vs. an estimate of the inventory fulfillment plus labor requirements to build. And the inventory fulfillment system is probably based on the JIT model.
When you consider the many different variations of the product and there are only so many paths the assembly line can take , the program probably gives priority to the highest output by configuration. Once they have that, they can predict how many vehicles they can build based on configurations.
All we are seeing is the scheduling for the factory. Then the allocations and priorities come into play as to which order gets pinged. Big dealers probably have more orders but only a percentage of them can be fulfilled per month. If you do the math, it seems like mom and pop dealers stand a better chance so it's really how high you are in their pecking order. And that is where the priority comes into play. And if the program is sophisticated enough, even though the dealer sees you as a 10 the whole way through, the priority gets adjusted based on how long the order has been in the system (adjusted for all of the flip flopping people are doing these days), sight unseen.
Ideally, if Ford really wants to spare us grief and false expectations, they easily estimate when our vehicles MIGHT be built. And of course, I am sure their legal beagles will want some sort of fine print that absolves them of any liability if they miss the mark.

At this point, a pretty good guess on their part is all I am looking for. I'm tired of going on the alert every Thursday hoping this will be it only to be disappointed. Come out and tell me I'm screwed until April and i will sit back and wait. They have $1,000 dollars of my money and i think that buys me a few answers on their part.

 

[Captain]

Nobody really seems to have any idea how Ford is actually allocating vehicles. Both dealers and customers are trying to work the system. I would say that there needs to be a better process that is well explained by Ford.

First, customer orders should take priority over dealer orders always. Customers must be verified and pay some kind of non-refundable deposit to secure their order to avoid mass cancellations and people just putting in orders to get ahead of inventory problems. Only one vehicle per customer should be able to ordered when their is limited production capacity. Existing loyal Ford customer should be shown some loyalty and receive priority in the ordering process.

Dealers should get early vehicles which can not be sold so customers can see them and get an idea of what they will be ordering. After the initial rush, these vehicles can be sold by dealers and the financials should work out so that dealers are not penalized for this. Dealers should be incentivized to get as many orders as possible by Ford. After the initial rush, dealers should be able to order and stock as many vehicles as they want and sell them for whatever prices they want. This should only be for people who like to just go into a dealer and walk out with a car. Anyone wanting to order a specific configuration should be able to do so easily so long as the vehicles are in production. These vehicles should always take priority over dealer stock orders.

Long gone should be the days of Ford and dealers colluding to drive up prices of vehicles and make dealers big profits. Dealers order vehicles with options that boost their profits, not necessarily what consumers are looking for if they got to pick exact options. Dealers should be concentrating on reaching out to customers and getting them to order vehicles to make money through Ford incentives. They should also all be looking at how they run their service and parts departments to gain loyal customers.

The automotive industry rightfully has a very shady reputation and it is up to big manufacturers like Ford to fix the problems they are largely responsible for creating. I would be fine if Ford challenged the dealer model and sued States to allow them to sell direct to the public through their own company owned stores. Small dealers will still have a place in this new system especially in rural areas by providing great service.

Think about this when it comes to vehicles with installed options…. You can’t get cable TV without “installed options”… at 71 do I really need the cartoon channel? Or do I need the “Fashion Channel”? I could go on, but you want TV you have to pay for the package.

 

[jhud042002]

Uh, Hybrid...

Of course the hybrid is constrained, i know that. but since it is constrained, why aren't they filling orders from June/July as a priority? Don't tell me it logistics, Chapman on the east coast gets 48 scheduled and scheduling is all over the US. if they were going to use logistics to determine builds, they'd start on one coast and work their way over. I wouldn't care as much if that was the case, at least I'd know I'm in the mix for scheduling at that point.

 

[brnpttmn]

Of course the hybrid is constrained, i know that. but since it is constrained, why aren't they filling orders from June/July as a priority? Don't tell me it logistics, Chapman on the east coast gets 48 scheduled and scheduling is all over the US. if they were going to use logistics to determine builds, they'd start on one coast and work their way over. I wouldn't care as much if that was the case, at least I'd know I'm in the mix for scheduling at that point.

Lol. No they wouldn't. That would cause massive bottlenecks (ever been in rush hour traffic?).

 

[jhud042002]

Allocating by order date only would make everyone have to wait longer in a market where there is a raw material shortage. From what I can tell, it seems Ford is building vehicles based on what materials they are able to get. So if someone orders a truck in June that will require materials that aren't available at the start of production, everyone who ordered after them has to wait? That's both unfair, and bad for business. "First come first serve" would work fine in a world where Ford has all the materials they need to build every truck readily available but even then it doesn't make logistical sense. It makes more sense to build similar vehicles in batches for efficiency purposes even if there isn't a shortage of materials.

The wining on here is getting unbearable.

that's a flawed argument. I've got a July 7 hybrid lux package order and I've seen plenty of people get their scheduled that ordered after me (October being the most recent). If what you say is true, then they've had parts for June/July hybrid orders for a while but keep passing them over

 

[Old Ranchero]

I don't need to have unloaded mile long trains to know it is possible to honor a customer order priority. I am not aware of a single Ford dealer that receives their cars via train. They are all loaded onto car carrier trucks. A car carrier truck can deliver a vehicle anywhere with a road. Dealers are completely unecessary.

lack of CDL drivers has affected movement of goods since COVID lockdowns. Published stories had the shortage at 25% initially and they can't hire/train qualified people fast enough. Last TV story on this I saw recently said shortage is still at -15% for drivers.

Lot's of people disagree with your opinion dealers UN-necessary

 

[brnpttmn]

that's a flawed argument. I've got a July 7 hybrid lux package order and I've seen plenty of people get their scheduled that ordered after me (October being the most recent). If what you say is true, then they've had parts for June/July hybrid orders for a while but keep passing them over

But if they couldn't ship your order efficiently they'd be storing the stock or taking a hit on the cost of shipping and they'd miss producing a build that they could efficiently ship/sell. Now the whole process has become less efficient/slower and more expensive.

 

[skadizzle]

May sound dumb, but what constitutes a small dealer? I ordered mine thru mullinax which I believe is a “chain”. They’re not a big lot by any means with not a lot of inventory but I think that’s everywhere. Only thing I’m worried about is my dealer told me that haven’t received one truck yet but 90% of their orders were hybrid… so who knows what to think

Don't know which Mullinax you went to, but the one in Apopka had a couple about a month ago. I went and checked them out. They were already sold so I couldn't get inside of them. I have an order at Mullinax and one at Chapman Ford in Philly. BTW, don't know where in FL you are, but there is a car show in Orlando this weekend and will have the Maverick, in case you haven't seen one yet.

 

[Gr8Mustang]

"Ford has forgotten who the customers are"

Sorry but more accuratly Ford does not care who the customer is.

Ford only cares about Ford. Profits are up, costs are down and folks are ordering cars so why should they care who the customers are?

The customers that drove the reservations/orders up for Mavericks in June, July and August helped Ford build a campaign of "look how many reservations we have."

Many of those that converted to orders for the Hybrid, especially the fully loaded ones, are still waiting for something other than an order confirmation and a letter about "FITS" that no onecares about unless they actually get a Maverick.

Not cancelling my orders but I am very aware of how much Ford cares about who the customer is.

 

[jhud042002]

But if they couldn't ship your order efficiently they'd be storing the stock or taking a hit on the cost of shipping and they'd miss producing a build that they could efficiently ship/sell. Now the whole process has become less efficient/slower and more expensive.

Seems like they've had no problem shipping to Granger in IA and Long MacArthur in KS. I ordered from a family friend in West Iowa, so if shipping was the issue why wasn't my 7/7 order included i production/shipping with those orders?

 

[brnpttmn]

Seems like they've had no problem shipping to Granger in IA and Long MacArthur in KS. I ordered from a family friend in West Iowa, so if shipping was the issue why wasn't my 7/7 order included i production/shipping with those orders?

Can't say for sure for your case specifically, and I've not seen any good cross tabs on orders vs dealer size so I don't know about dealer equity. But you have to consider the base rate for the big dealers. More orders = more allocations = more orders = more people posting there big dealer builds here. I also think theirs some basis towards ordering from the big "online" dealers in internet forums. We're generally the more connected folk who would buy from a dealer in a different state.

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