How do allocation work?

[Pbroph]

If someone with 1st hand experience on exactly how allocation works can put my mind at ease it would be greatly appreciated.
I've asked my salesman several times how many Mavericks his store has on order, & what his allocation is.

I'm getting indirect answers, for how many , all I can get out of him is "a few".
For allocation (this is what's confusing me) he insists that his allocation has nothing to do with my order, again not answering the question of how many is he allowed.

I thought from reading on this forum & Tim Bartz videos that allocation is a consideration on where you fall on scheduling.

This is a small dealership & I'm good friends with office manager, but I'm not feeling warm & fuzzy with my young sales man . "If you can't dazzle them with diamonds, baffle them with bullshit" should be this guy's motto.

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[RGinFL]

It just means the dealers are allocated so many vehicles, mostly due to high demand. I have no idea what their allocations are but sold vehicles count against their allocation.
So if Ford limits each dealer to (10) vehicles a month and they have sold (4), they probably have ordered (6) more for their stock. These are arbitrary numbers - I have no idea what the allocations are.
Allocations = Temporary Limited supply.
Your dealer has a "few" allocated but yours should be one of them! Orders take precedence over stock. The problem is some dealers are receiving more orders than they have allocation. Which means they can only order so many this month and will place any over-allocation orders next month.
You should receive a confirmation email from Ford that your order has been received.

It is a new production vehicle for 2022. Most new vehicles and new model year vehicles come out in October. We all bombarded them with orders and they possibly have component supply issues (?), which has created the "allocation".
I think they don't want to repeat the Bronco Sport launch. They have to be able to produce a certain amount for dealer inventories too. They closed off online ordering of the Maverick and have been directing new sales to dealers. This will buy them some time to build sold (Our!) orders and dealer stock.
People are getting scheduled now for September and October. They should start scheduling more builds in the next few weeks. We can only speculate - let's stay positive!

 

[Pbroph]

It just means the dealers are allocated so many vehicles, mostly due to high demand. I have no idea what their allocations are but sold vehicles count against their allocation.
So if Ford limits each dealer to (10) vehicles a month and they have sold (4), they probably have ordered (6) more for their stock. These are arbitrary numbers - I have no idea what the allocations are.
Allocations = Temporary Limited supply.
Your dealer has a "few" allocated but yours should be one of them! Orders take precedence over stock. The problem is some dealers are receiving more orders than they have allocation. Which means they can only order so many this month and will place any over-allocation orders next month.
You should receive a confirmation email from Ford that your order has been received.

It is a new production vehicle for 2022. Most new vehicles and new model year vehicles come out in October. We all bombarded them with orders and they possibly have component supply issues (?), which has created the "allocation".
I think they don't want to repeat the Bronco Sport launch. They have to be able to produce a certain amount for dealer inventories too. They closed off online ordering of the Maverick and have been directing new sales to dealers. This will buy them some time to build sold (Our!) orders and dealer stock.
People are getting scheduled now for September and October. They should start scheduling more builds in the next few weeks. We can only speculate - let's stay positive!

Thanks for the info, you would think the guy selling me the truck could have been as articulate.
I did get confirmation from Ford after 3 phone calls asking if he put in order.
This waiting is stressful enough without a salesman who is not openly sharing info with me. Thanks.

 

[huunvubu]

It just means the dealers are allocated so many vehicles, mostly due to high demand. I have no idea what their allocations are but sold vehicles count against their allocation.
So if Ford limits each dealer to (10) vehicles a month and they have sold (4), they probably have ordered (6) more for their stock. These are arbitrary numbers - I have no idea what the allocations are.

Allocations = Temporary Limited supply.

Your dealer has a "few" allocated but yours should be one of them! Orders take precedence over stock. The problem is some dealers are receiving more orders than they have allocation. Which means they can only order so many this month and will place any over-allocation orders next month.

You should receive a confirmation email from Ford that your order has been received.

I have received an email from Ford confirming my order the same day (8/23) I did the order (signed with copy of DL) at the dealership.

Does that mean that the dealer had enough allocations available at the time I did the order?

 

[FirstOnRaceDay]

I have received an email from Ford confirming my order the same day (8/23) I did the order (signed with copy of DL) at the dealership.

Does that mean that the dealer had enough allocations available at the time I did the order?

Orders don’t include allocation IF you filled out an order form (NOT RESERVATION) those will get delivered first not matter how big the dealer is.
the allocations come next. (Sold off the lot).
So if you ordered a Maverick you will get a delivery date. That’s when you will get it. Now dealers with more orders will likely get theirs first vs small dealers.

allocations are just how many will be on the lot.
It’s hard to tell right now how many they will get with the shortage going on.
most new big time dealers have <30 new cars on the lot when they typically have over 100-200.
But before the shortage most dealers had a handful of Bronco Sports on the lot. And the Maverick will have a similar timeline and allocation.

my coworker got a bronco sport in March off the lot. Meaning come spring 2022 there should be a hand full of Mavericks on the lot (pending the Chip shortage.

 

[Pbroph]

Orders don’t include allocation IF you filled out an order form (NOT RESERVATION) those will get delivered first not matter how big the dealer is.
the allocations come next. (Sold off the lot).
So if you ordered a Maverick you will get a delivery date. That’s when you will get it. Now dealers with more orders will likely get theirs first vs small dealers.

allocations are just how many will be on the lot.
It’s hard to tell right now how many they will get with the shortage going on.
most new big time dealers have <30 new cars on the lot when they typically have over 100-200.
But before the shortage most dealers had a handful of Bronco Sports on the lot. And the Maverick will have a similar timeline and allocation.

my coworker got a bronco sport in March off the lot. Meaning come spring 2022 there should be a hand full of Mavericks on the lot (pending the Chip shortage.

So, the smaller dealer is a disadvantage.

 

[coxwm2]

Found this on another site. Explains the allocation / ordering process very well.

Dealers assign priority codes to each order based on the Order Type. Stock orders are assigned priority codes 20-80, retail orders are assigned priority codes 10-19. Fleet orders are assigned special alpha numeric codes that represent a requested production week. The priority codes determine the order for which vehicle orders are to be selected and/or considered for scheduling. This overview doesn’t consider commodity issues (model, powertrain or option scheduling restrictions) that may be in place for a scheduling week. Commodity issues and/or restrictions can apply at either or both the regional and national levels.

The highest priority that a Dealer can use for a retail order is 10. An order with a “10” priority code will schedule ahead of an order with an “11” priority code, etc. This allows Dealers to prioritize the order in which vehicles are scheduled, especially when a Dealer may have multiple retail orders in the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank). With the WBDO ordering system, retail orders default to priority code “19” so it’s important that a Dealer change the priority code to a lower number if they want the order to be considered for scheduling earlier compared to other orders.

Ford provides Dealers with a schedule for vehicle allocation each week on Monday mornings which shows how many vehicles of each model line that the Dealer has allocation for scheduling that week. That same weekly allocation report also includes information on any regional commodity issues or restrictions. On Monday afternoons, the Scheduling Toolbox Report is released which provides more detailed information on commodity issues and scheduling availability on a national basis. On Tuesday mornings, the AM Scheduling Preview Report is available to show Dealers which vehicle orders have been selected or previewed, on an initial basis, to be selected for scheduling that week. The same report is updated and available on Wednesday morning to show any changes based on commodity issues that may have changed.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Regional Scheduler issues a notice informing Dealers of the vehicle specifications available for scheduling for orders not already showing on the AM Preview Report. This provides Dealers with information on what vehicle specifications are available for scheduling should they have orders showing on the AM Preview Report that are not what the Dealer wants.

Ford generates what are called “SIMS Orders” each week which are Ford’s suggested orders based on commodity information available at the time. If a Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling that week and has no Dealer orders in the USOB or orders that don’t meet the commodity restrictions in place for that week, the scheduling system will default to trying to schedule SIMS (Smart Inventory Management System) orders if they meet any commodity restrictions in place. The SIMS orders are available to Dealers online Monday mornings and in print form on Tuesday mornings. Dealers can enter their own vehicle orders or change the Ford generated SIMS orders.

Ford Dealers earn vehicle scheduling allocation each month based on reported vehicle sales, current inventory, projected sales, etc. Each month, Dealers usually meet with their Ford Zone Manager to review the allocation offered for scheduling the following month. A Dealer can accept the suggested allocation per vehicle line or change their commitment. Should a Dealer want more allocation than offered for a vehicle line, they can submit a request for supplemental allocation which will be considered based on total allocation available and commitments from other Dealers in their Zone. There are times when Dealers accept less allocation than offered for a vehicle line which makes that allocation available to other Dealers that may be looking for additional inventory. At other times, a Dealer may want more allocation for a vehicle line than Ford has offered. A supplemental allocation request is how Dealers can get allocation for extra inventory.

A Dealer needs allocation each week for scheduling for each vehicle line. Even without allocation for a vehicle line, Ford is pretty good at trying to schedule retail orders even when a Dealer doesn’t have allocation that week. When a Dealer knows that they don’t have scheduling allocation, it’s always a good idea for them to provide the retail order information (Body Code & Order Number) to their Ford Zone Manager and the Regional Scheduler. The Regional Scheduler can reprioritize the retail order to priority code “01” which basically forces the Ford scheduling system to schedule the unit ASAP unless extreme commodity restrictions prevent the scheduling. When a Dealer doesn’t have allocation, the Ford Zone Manager may try to get the allocation from another Dealer that is willing to give up their allocation.

Ford scheduling is done on Thursday’s but at times scheduling may be carried over to Friday’s due to scheduling, commodity or other issues. Vehicle scheduling confirmations are available on Friday mornings for allocation scheduled on Thursday.

With only a few exceptions (Focus RS, EcoSport, Transit Connect) VIN numbers are generated at the time that an order is “Submitted to Plant” for scheduling. The initial scheduling information will show an order scheduled for a production week. Afterwards, the information will be updated to show production for a particular date. Along the process, the vehicle order status information will be updated along with the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) at the dealership.

Years ago, the ordering process was much easier, with few or limited commodity issues to deal with. Ford’s vehicle scheduling was mostly driven by scheduling and building vehicles based on Dealer orders to meet Market demands. For a number of years now, the ordering process has become more complex and time consuming based on the constantly changing commodity issues and restrictions. It is now not uncommon for allocation to roll over to the following week because manufacturing can’t accurately forecast how many vehicles can be scheduled for production. In many cases, it seems that either because of vendor supply issues or other factors that Ford skews vehicle scheduling to higher content models in order to maximize corporate profits rather than scheduling vehicle production to meet Dealers orders or Market demand.

The overall vehicle order process, scheduling and status updates is listed below for reference.

· Dealer places order into the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank)
· When Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling, orders are scheduled based on Order Type, Priority Code and commodity restrictions.
o Scheduled vehicle orders display as “Submitted to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily schedule status report.
o Vehicle orders are assigned a VIN number when scheduled except for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, Transit Connect)
o The initial vehicle scheduling notice will include information for the scheduled week of production. The initial ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is usually provided within a few days of the scheduling notice.
o Dealers can change vehicle specifications for a scheduled vehicle up until the vehicle is “locked in” for production or about two weeks prior to the scheduled build date. Specifications for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, etc.) cannot be changed once scheduled.
§ Dealers are limited to making 6 changes to scheduled orders.
§ Dealers cannot change Order Type, Body Code, Order Code (Package/Trim Level)

· Vehicle order is next updated with a scheduled production date.
· Vehicle goes into production and shows as “Sent to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily status report.
o Vehicle invoices and window stickers are generated and available to Dealers at about this time.
· Dealer’s daily status report shows updates on production status.
· Vehicle status updated to “Produced”
· Vehicle status updated to “Released” meaning that the vehicle has been released for shipment.
· Vehicle is loaded on rail car. Dealer is provided with carrier information (Canadian National, Norfolk Sothern, etc.) along with the actual rail car number.
· Vehicle status is updated to show arrival at the final rail destination (Ramp 41/Newark, NJ)
· Vehicle is received by the car carrier (Fleet Car, Diversified Automotive, etc.) for delivery to the dealership.
· Vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

Dealers have access to the “Vehicle Visibility” application which provides status updates on a 24/7 basis for any vehicle order.

 

[BDennis]

So, the smaller dealer is a disadvantage.

Smaller dealer also has less orders. If you order from one of the dealer’s that ships across the country now, they could have hundreds in front of you. The system is designed to promote balance.

 

[FirstOnRaceDay]

Smaller dealer also has less orders. If you order from one of the dealer’s that ships across the country now, they could have hundreds in front of you. The system is designed to promote balance.

exactly. If you ordering I suggest ordering from a larger dealer. So long as they are giving you a good deal. TYPICALLY bigger dealers are more likely to give you a big deal. Because they have so many of a similar vehicle. More invintory means less markup. If they are only getting 1 of a vehicle for a while they are more inclined to mark that up to make the most of it.

making $1000 off of 20 cars vs $20,000 off of 1 car. Kind of idea.

 

[jonathan1994]

§ Dealers cannot change Order Type, Body Code, Order Code (Package/Trim Level)

[/QUOTE]
Wait.. what...
I ordered a base Lariat and got confirmation on 8-2-21.
I requested the dealer add the Luxury package mid August and he sent me a new build sheet to sign on 8-25-21.

The preview order # and the sales code and order code are all the same,
But,
Above you said dealer can't change the package?

 

[kingdoms333]

Thanks for the info, you would think the guy selling me the truck could have been as articulate.
I did get confirmation from Ford after 3 phone calls asking if he put in order.
This waiting is stressful enough without a salesman who is not openly sharing info with me. Thanks.

I worked in a Ford dealership for about 5 years in the early 1990's. Most dealerships don't tell floor sales people much of anything..unless they aren't making their sales quota. The dealership person anyone needs to talk wtih if he wants to get 'more' accurate information is the 1) Sales Manager 2) General Manager or 3) the owner. FYI.....and then double check the story with a 'lower' echelon person. Its been that way for years in the car dealership business.

 

[Pbroph]

I worked in a Ford dealership for about 5 years in the early 1990's. Most dealerships don't tell floor sales people much of anything..unless they aren't making their sales quota. The dealership person anyone needs to talk wtih if he wants to get 'more' accurate information is the 1) Sales Manager 2) General Manager or 3) the owner. FYI.....and then double check the story with a 'lower' echelon person. Its been that way for years in the car dealership business.

I sold new cars for 13 yrs, I never told a customer "I don't know " & leave it at that, I would say something like" I hear your concern, let me get right on that & get back to you", this guy has no follow through skills, only reason I'm there is because I am friends with the office manager & customer satisfaction manager. Spoke to both of them & was told "That's just Dan, we'll stay on top of him." I now only deal with them, but as a former salesman get pissed that he's not earning his commission.

 

[Redneck Garage]

Found this on another site. Explains the allocation / ordering process very well.

Dealers assign priority codes to each order based on the Order Type. Stock orders are assigned priority codes 20-80, retail orders are assigned priority codes 10-19. Fleet orders are assigned special alpha numeric codes that represent a requested production week. The priority codes determine the order for which vehicle orders are to be selected and/or considered for scheduling. This overview doesn’t consider commodity issues (model, powertrain or option scheduling restrictions) that may be in place for a scheduling week. Commodity issues and/or restrictions can apply at either or both the regional and national levels

Years ago, the ordering process was much easier, with few or limited commodity issues to deal with. Ford’s vehicle scheduling was mostly driven by scheduling and building vehicles based on

The overall vehicle order process, scheduling and status updates is listed below for reference.

· Dealer places order into the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank)

Dealers have access to the “Vehicle Visibility” application which provides status updates on a 24/7 basis for any vehicle order.

Evidently this dealer has three units to sell ...... https://www.cannonfordlincolnofstar..._FWD_SuperCrew-Starkville-MS/5110475900#close

 

[damnclose]

Found this on another site. Explains the allocation / ordering process very well.

Dealers assign priority codes to each order based on the Order Type. Stock orders are assigned priority codes 20-80, retail orders are assigned priority codes 10-19. Fleet orders are assigned special alpha numeric codes that represent a requested production week. The priority codes determine the order for which vehicle orders are to be selected and/or considered for scheduling. This overview doesn’t consider commodity issues (model, powertrain or option scheduling restrictions) that may be in place for a scheduling week. Commodity issues and/or restrictions can apply at either or both the regional and national levels.

The highest priority that a Dealer can use for a retail order is 10. An order with a “10” priority code will schedule ahead of an order with an “11” priority code, etc. This allows Dealers to prioritize the order in which vehicles are scheduled, especially when a Dealer may have multiple retail orders in the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank). With the WBDO ordering system, retail orders default to priority code “19” so it’s important that a Dealer change the priority code to a lower number if they want the order to be considered for scheduling earlier compared to other orders.

Ford provides Dealers with a schedule for vehicle allocation each week on Monday mornings which shows how many vehicles of each model line that the Dealer has allocation for scheduling that week. That same weekly allocation report also includes information on any regional commodity issues or restrictions. On Monday afternoons, the Scheduling Toolbox Report is released which provides more detailed information on commodity issues and scheduling availability on a national basis. On Tuesday mornings, the AM Scheduling Preview Report is available to show Dealers which vehicle orders have been selected or previewed, on an initial basis, to be selected for scheduling that week. The same report is updated and available on Wednesday morning to show any changes based on commodity issues that may have changed.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Regional Scheduler issues a notice informing Dealers of the vehicle specifications available for scheduling for orders not already showing on the AM Preview Report. This provides Dealers with information on what vehicle specifications are available for scheduling should they have orders showing on the AM Preview Report that are not what the Dealer wants.

Ford generates what are called “SIMS Orders” each week which are Ford’s suggested orders based on commodity information available at the time. If a Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling that week and has no Dealer orders in the USOB or orders that don’t meet the commodity restrictions in place for that week, the scheduling system will default to trying to schedule SIMS (Smart Inventory Management System) orders if they meet any commodity restrictions in place. The SIMS orders are available to Dealers online Monday mornings and in print form on Tuesday mornings. Dealers can enter their own vehicle orders or change the Ford generated SIMS orders.

Ford Dealers earn vehicle scheduling allocation each month based on reported vehicle sales, current inventory, projected sales, etc. Each month, Dealers usually meet with their Ford Zone Manager to review the allocation offered for scheduling the following month. A Dealer can accept the suggested allocation per vehicle line or change their commitment. Should a Dealer want more allocation than offered for a vehicle line, they can submit a request for supplemental allocation which will be considered based on total allocation available and commitments from other Dealers in their Zone. There are times when Dealers accept less allocation than offered for a vehicle line which makes that allocation available to other Dealers that may be looking for additional inventory. At other times, a Dealer may want more allocation for a vehicle line than Ford has offered. A supplemental allocation request is how Dealers can get allocation for extra inventory.

A Dealer needs allocation each week for scheduling for each vehicle line. Even without allocation for a vehicle line, Ford is pretty good at trying to schedule retail orders even when a Dealer doesn’t have allocation that week. When a Dealer knows that they don’t have scheduling allocation, it’s always a good idea for them to provide the retail order information (Body Code & Order Number) to their Ford Zone Manager and the Regional Scheduler. The Regional Scheduler can reprioritize the retail order to priority code “01” which basically forces the Ford scheduling system to schedule the unit ASAP unless extreme commodity restrictions prevent the scheduling. When a Dealer doesn’t have allocation, the Ford Zone Manager may try to get the allocation from another Dealer that is willing to give up their allocation.

Ford scheduling is done on Thursday’s but at times scheduling may be carried over to Friday’s due to scheduling, commodity or other issues. Vehicle scheduling confirmations are available on Friday mornings for allocation scheduled on Thursday.

With only a few exceptions (Focus RS, EcoSport, Transit Connect) VIN numbers are generated at the time that an order is “Submitted to Plant” for scheduling. The initial scheduling information will show an order scheduled for a production week. Afterwards, the information will be updated to show production for a particular date. Along the process, the vehicle order status information will be updated along with the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) at the dealership.

Years ago, the ordering process was much easier, with few or limited commodity issues to deal with. Ford’s vehicle scheduling was mostly driven by scheduling and building vehicles based on Dealer orders to meet Market demands. For a number of years now, the ordering process has become more complex and time consuming based on the constantly changing commodity issues and restrictions. It is now not uncommon for allocation to roll over to the following week because manufacturing can’t accurately forecast how many vehicles can be scheduled for production. In many cases, it seems that either because of vendor supply issues or other factors that Ford skews vehicle scheduling to higher content models in order to maximize corporate profits rather than scheduling vehicle production to meet Dealers orders or Market demand.

The overall vehicle order process, scheduling and status updates is listed below for reference.

· Dealer places order into the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank)
· When Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling, orders are scheduled based on Order Type, Priority Code and commodity restrictions.
o Scheduled vehicle orders display as “Submitted to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily schedule status report.
o Vehicle orders are assigned a VIN number when scheduled except for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, Transit Connect)
o The initial vehicle scheduling notice will include information for the scheduled week of production. The initial ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is usually provided within a few days of the scheduling notice.
o Dealers can change vehicle specifications for a scheduled vehicle up until the vehicle is “locked in” for production or about two weeks prior to the scheduled build date. Specifications for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, etc.) cannot be changed once scheduled.
§ Dealers are limited to making 6 changes to scheduled orders.
§ Dealers cannot change Order Type, Body Code, Order Code (Package/Trim Level)

· Vehicle order is next updated with a scheduled production date.
· Vehicle goes into production and shows as “Sent to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily status report.
o Vehicle invoices and window stickers are generated and available to Dealers at about this time.
· Dealer’s daily status report shows updates on production status.
· Vehicle status updated to “Produced”
· Vehicle status updated to “Released” meaning that the vehicle has been released for shipment.
· Vehicle is loaded on rail car. Dealer is provided with carrier information (Canadian National, Norfolk Sothern, etc.) along with the actual rail car number.
· Vehicle status is updated to show arrival at the final rail destination (Ramp 41/Newark, NJ)
· Vehicle is received by the car carrier (Fleet Car, Diversified Automotive, etc.) for delivery to the dealership.
· Vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

Dealers have access to the “Vehicle Visibility” application which provides status updates on a 24/7 basis for any vehicle order.

Great explanation, seems to make sense.

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