Scheduling question....

[ulev1st]

Once a dealer places a retail order...what determindswhen the car actually gets scheduled for build? Is it possible to order a car and it NOT get built? My Boss has been ordered since December. Is there anyway to find out what QUARTER it MIGHT be scheduled for. Last up date was..Unscheduled...Material hold... Will I EVER see this car? Thanks for education me.

[duanesz]

Thanks for buying a ford. Not sure on the Boss model hopefully some one from AAI with chime in on when the Bosses will be coming down the line. Its a limited build so it might be second quarter or so.

[deflep1]

We've been building the Boss 302 for over a month and a half, usually the dealerships get the first cars within 6 weeks after launch, unless there are recalls or quality holds. You should be getting news on it soon, once the dealerships get their first ones, then the production should go in order by ordering date. Both versions of the Boss are bad ass, the Laguna Seca is just plain wicked. ulev1st, have patience your bad to the bone Boss will be coming soon! We have lost 3 weeks to parts shortages in the past 4 months, so we are slightly behind, but we are building a lot of Bosses right now and should be caught up soon.

[Marginal Economist]

Once a dealer places a retail order...what determindswhen the car actually gets scheduled for build? Is it possible to order a car and it NOT get built? My Boss has been ordered since December. Is there anyway to find out what QUARTER it MIGHT be scheduled for. Last up date was..Unscheduled...Material hold... Will I EVER see this car? Thanks for education me.

 

The Boss is an extremely limited build car - especially the Laguna Seca. A Ford dealership that sold 50 Mustangs last year is likely looking at receiving 2-3 Mustangs for the year. If they get 5 orders for Boss 302s, they will not be able to fulfill the orders. There have been delays on production - vehicles that were intended to be built in March have been pushed back to April and May. There are more retail orders for the vehicle than there is production.

 

To answer your question, the order will get built when a dealer gets allocation. There is no accurate way to predict whether it is Q2 or Q4. I do know more allocation was set up for later in the year.

 

I'd stay tight with your dealer and find out how many cars he is getting this year. Good luck.

[WillSD]

ulev1st -- Ford has been very forthright in their allocation information regarding the Boss and Laguna Seca. Your dealer should have a very good idea of their total allocation and quarterly distribution of said allocation. We are a very small dealership and received one Boss allocation via lottery. Our sales representative contacted us immediately with the good news and information on which quarter our Boss would be produced. Your order will show "Material Hold" until your dealer receives allocation for the unit. Contact your dealer and find out what their total Boss and Laguna Seca allocation is and where your order slots into that allocation.

 

And yes, you can order a vehicle which does not end up in production. If the ordering dealer has no allocation, the unit is not going to be built.

[hopperwagonbob]

ulev1st -- Ford has been very forthright in their allocation information regarding the Boss and Laguna Seca. Your dealer should have a very good idea of their total allocation and quarterly distribution of said allocation. We are a very small dealership and received one Boss allocation via lottery. Our sales representative contacted us immediately with the good news and information on which quarter our Boss would be produced. Your order will show "Material Hold" until your dealer receives allocation for the unit. Contact your dealer and find out what their total Boss and Laguna Seca allocation is and where your order slots into that allocation.

 

And yes, you can order a vehicle which does not end up in production. If the ordering dealer has no allocation, the unit is not going to be built.

How do we know if a dealer has allocation? I ordered a Raptor 7 weeks ago an have no vin yet. Called customer service and they told me july. And that my small local dealer dosn't have allocation for one. Was told to go to a bigger dealer that has allocation. My local small guy said 6 to 8 weeks. Now iv'e wasted 7 weeks.

[VDTRANSMAN]

How do we know if a dealer has allocation? I ordered a Raptor 7 weeks ago an have no vin yet. Called customer service and they told me july. And that my small local dealer dosn't have allocation for one. Was told to go to a bigger dealer that has allocation. My local small guy said 6 to 8 weeks. Now iv'e wasted 7 weeks.

 

I dont understand that one. I see them sitting on dealer lots up here.

[Pioneer]

Ford's ordering system is stupid. Retail orders are coded 10 thru 19. Stock orders are coded 20 thru 99. If it is coded as retail, it shouldn't matter if the dealer has allocation. The unit should be built, and built as soon as possible before other stock orders. It shouldn't take over 6 weeks from order to delivery.

[Marginal Economist]

Ford's ordering system is stupid. Retail orders are coded 10 thru 19. Stock orders are coded 20 thru 99. If it is coded as retail, it shouldn't matter if the dealer has allocation. The unit should be built, and built as soon as possible before other stock orders. It shouldn't take over 6 weeks from order to delivery.

 

Just because you don't understand the allocation system doesn't make it stupid. Are you one of the white collar workers you were talking about who knew everything about adding a flex line to a plant?

 

1st - Raptors are a specialty vehicle and are manually scheduled. They are an SVT product with limited builds. Should retail Boss 302's all get built as retails as well?

 

2nd - There is a retail sweep each month to give allocation to retail orders that haven't been scheduled - this includes Raptors. So if a small dealer does not have allocation for a vehicle line, the will get it usually within the month.

 

3rd - The allocation system is designed to keep the plants moving. There are limits to what can be built by trim level, body style, paint color. Each week there are hundreds of items that are either on constraint or could be soon. Commodities, optimization, parts issues, and timing all require an allocation system.

[RKSteel]

Just because you don't understand the allocation system doesn't make it stupid. Are you one of the white collar workers you were talking about who knew everything about adding a flex line to a plant?

 

1st - Raptors are a specialty vehicle and are manually scheduled. They are an SVT product with limited builds. Should retail Boss 302's all get built as retails as well?

 

2nd - There is a retail sweep each month to give allocation to retail orders that haven't been scheduled - this includes Raptors. So if a small dealer does not have allocation for a vehicle line, the will get it usually within the month.

 

3rd - The allocation system is designed to keep the plants moving. There are limits to what can be built by trim level, body style, paint color. Each week there are hundreds of items that are either on constraint or could be soon. Commodities, optimization, parts issues, and timing all require an allocation system.

ME, thanks for clearing up how the allocation works. I'm waiting about 7wks now for my F150 FX2 to be built. Does the monthly sweep for retail orders get processed by length of time an order has been in an unschedule clean status (longest-highest priority)? Thanks.

[Pioneer]

Just because you don't understand the allocation system doesn't make it stupid.

 

I understand how the system works, and I still think it's stupid.

 

If it's a retail order, it should have priority over a stock order whether the dealer has allocation or not. Ford monitors the system to make sure retail order priorities are not being abused, so retail should take precedence every time unless there is a commodity problem. A person waiting with cash in hand for three months shouldn't have had to wait that long because a dealer two counties over sold more stock units last year.

[Marginal Economist]

ME, thanks for clearing up how the allocation works. I'm waiting about 7wks now for my F150 FX2 to be built. Does the monthly sweep for retail orders get processed by length of time an order has been in an unschedule clean status (longest-highest priority)? Thanks.

The retail sweep runs once a month - the last was on April 15th. Any unscheduled retail orders are looked at and the dealership is given allocation to get the vehicle built in the upcoming wholesale. If you ordered on April 17, it will not be picked up until the May sweep. The dealership still may have allocation for an F150 and yours could get built. If they did not have allocation, the retail sweep would be there to protect you.

 

The only issues that arise are if dealers don't put the order in as a retail (stock) and if they don't have a consistant priority process. If every retail goes in as a "10", the scheduling system will just pull any of the retail orders, perhaps not the oldest. Ford enocurages dealers to "layer" the order bank to ensure the right vehicles are gettng built.

 

Retails also get to go to the front of the line on commodities, so overall it does help get the retails built. It is not a simple system, but getting a car built is not a simple process.

[carguy]

[NO ALLOCATION NOT GOING TO BE SCHEDULED PERIOD! A dealer must have allocation to get the unit from the factory sold or stock. This is how the order process works. I know because I am a retired Ford Dealer.

 

After you agree on a deal the dealership will translate your order into a series of three digit codes and input those codes into a computer. The next day they will receive a dealer order receipt acknowledgement (DORA), which I recommend you review with your salesperson. Mistakes do occasionally happen and this is the first step to avoiding one. While placing the order the dealer will assign it a priority code. For sold units the code will be a number from 10 to 40 with 10 being the highest (best) priority. I personally assign the codes based on when the customer ordered the vehicle i.e. the oldest order gets the highest priority.

 

Now comes the hard part. Dealers are assigned a certain number of vehicles (allocation) for four or five week order periods. In one order period depending on the size of the dealership he could get 0 to 100 rangers. Production weeks start on Thursday for Ford. If on Thursday night the dealership has allocation for a ranger you have reached the next hurdle.

 

Within each vehicle line certain options aka commodities are controlled (limited). For example this week if I have 3 ranger allocations I can only order 47% of them with a flare side box. So if I only have 2 sold orders for rangers and both have a flare side box only one of them will be scheduled for production. Since I must buy 3 they will schedule 2 without the flare side box for stock while the other sold unit sits in the order bank. On Thursday night the computer will look at each dealers order bank individually to schedule the necessary units. On Friday morning the dealer will get a print out showing the serial number (VIN) that the scheduled units will be produced with. On Saturday or the following Monday the print out will show the week the unit will be built.

 

All schedule dates are Mondays. That means the unit could start down the line any day that week. How long after the vehicle is produced until it arrives at the dealership depends on the distance from the manufacturing plant to the dealership. For example in Michigan a Mustang produced in Dearborn or a Focus produced in Wayne will arrive within a day or two of the vehicle coming off the assembly line. A pick up coming from Kansas City may take a week or an Edge from Canada may take 2 weeks. Once the vehicle is in the hands of the transport company the dealer has no way to track it.

 

Sorry for the length of this post but I could not think of a way to condense it.

 

If something is unclear or you have any other questions just ask.

 

Carguy

 

This question seems to appear in one form or another quite frequently. This is a cut and paste of an explanation I did for a similar question. I hope it helps you understand the pro

[akirby]

[NO ALLOCATION NOT GOING TO BE SCHEDULED PERIOD! A dealer must have allocation to get the unit from the factory sold or stock. This is how the order process works. I know because I am a retired Ford Dealer.

 

After you agree on a deal the dealership will translate your order into a series of three digit codes and input those codes into a computer. The next day they will receive a dealer order receipt acknowledgement (DORA), which I recommend you review with your salesperson. Mistakes do occasionally happen and this is the first step to avoiding one. While placing the order the dealer will assign it a priority code. For sold units the code will be a number from 10 to 40 with 10 being the highest (best) priority. I personally assign the codes based on when the customer ordered the vehicle i.e. the oldest order gets the highest priority.

 

Now comes the hard part. Dealers are assigned a certain number of vehicles (allocation) for four or five week order periods. In one order period depending on the size of the dealership he could get 0 to 100 rangers. Production weeks start on Thursday for Ford. If on Thursday night the dealership has allocation for a ranger you have reached the next hurdle.

 

Within each vehicle line certain options aka commodities are controlled (limited). For example this week if I have 3 ranger allocations I can only order 47% of them with a flare side box. So if I only have 2 sold orders for rangers and both have a flare side box only one of them will be scheduled for production. Since I must buy 3 they will schedule 2 without the flare side box for stock while the other sold unit sits in the order bank. On Thursday night the computer will look at each dealers order bank individually to schedule the necessary units. On Friday morning the dealer will get a print out showing the serial number (VIN) that the scheduled units will be produced with. On Saturday or the following Monday the print out will show the week the unit will be built.

 

All schedule dates are Mondays. That means the unit could start down the line any day that week. How long after the vehicle is produced until it arrives at the dealership depends on the distance from the manufacturing plant to the dealership. For example in Michigan a Mustang produced in Dearborn or a Focus produced in Wayne will arrive within a day or two of the vehicle coming off the assembly line. A pick up coming from Kansas City may take a week or an Edge from Canada may take 2 weeks. Once the vehicle is in the hands of the transport company the dealer has no way to track it.

 

Sorry for the length of this post but I could not think of a way to condense it.

 

If something is unclear or you have any other questions just ask.

 

Carguy

 

This question seems to appear in one form or another quite frequently. This is a cut and paste of an explanation I did for a similar question. I hope it helps you understand the pro

 

Some things appear to have changed. e.g. Retail (sold) orders must be priority 10-19. All stock orders must be priority 20-99. You can't have a retail order with priority 40.

 

You can also lock most public incentives at the time you order. The times they are a-changin'.

[RKSteel]

ME and Carguy, thanks for all the info. My order was processed on 3/14 with a priority '10' based on the Vehicle Order Confirm. Its a FX2, Screw, lux pak, 157" wb, 5.0L and 3.55 axel.

 

If I understand correctly, if the dealer doesn't have an allocation for this trim, it will take a longer time to schedule the build date and if it doesn't get picked-up in next week's sweep, I will have to wait at least until June?

 

Dealer said that parts shortage was preventing his orders from being schedule to get built. I'll give him a call this week and ask about the dora and his allocation. Considering I was just at a dealer in TX w/ over 160 F150s in stock and not one matched my order, I'm probaby SOL and will just have to wait.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

RKSteel

[f150oderus]

ME and Carguy, thanks for all the info. My order was processed on 3/14 with a priority '10' based on the Vehicle Order Confirm. Its a FX2, Screw, lux pak, 157" wb, 5.0L and 3.55 axel.

 

If I understand correctly, if the dealer doesn't have an allocation for this trim, it will take a longer time to schedule the build date and if it doesn't get picked-up in next week's sweep, I will have to wait at least until June?

 

Dealer said that parts shortage was preventing his orders from being schedule to get built. I'll give him a call this week and ask about the dora and his allocation. Considering I was just at a dealer in TX w/ over 160 F150s in stock and not one matched my order, I'm probaby SOL and will just have to wait.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

RKSteel

This may help Tire shortages and shortages of the 5.0 motors have been a problem The FX2 is very popular

KCAP is building about 150 a day up from about 25 a day a week ago

All have been high end model Super Crews

[RKSteel]

This may help Tire shortages and shortages of the 5.0 motors have been a problem The FX2 is very popular

KCAP is building about 150 a day up from about 25 a day a week ago

All have been high end model Super Crews

Emailed my dealer asking when the mthly sweep was, told me a tire shortage held up the truck, should be scheduled for next week.

 

Thanks for all the info.