Does anyone know how allocations are pulled

[fuhrius]

the short answer is: no. no one really knows ;-)

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[Five Oh Brian]

the short answer is: no. no one really knows ;-)

Well, some of us understand how it works (I've been ordering Fords for years at a large volume dealership), but it's complicated to explain. It's the kind of tale that's best told over a few beers as it's too much to type in a forum post.

 

[fuhrius]

Well, some of us understand how it works (I've been ordering Fords for years at a large volume dealership), but it's complicated to explain. It's the kind of tale that's best told over a few beers as it's too much to type in a forum post.

understood...I was joking. I was a Ford regional rep for a few years and served everyone from the very small to the couple largest dealerships in the country (not kinda large, but the two largest)...at one point in my career at Ford, I ran the distribution system for a large portion of the US. So I know how it's supposed to work on paper and how it works in practice.

I agree with you that it's complicated (both on paper and in practice) and I agree that beers are a great way to explain most things. ;-)

 

[Five Oh Brian]

understood...I was joking. I was a Ford regional rep for a few years and served everyone from the very small to the couple largest dealerships in the country (not kinda large, but the two largest)...at one point in my career at Ford, I ran the distribution system for a large portion of the US. So I know how it's supposed to work on paper and how it works in practice.

I agree with you that it's complicated (both on paper and in practice) and I agree that beers are a great way to explain most things. ;-)

Amen to that.

I've explained the theory of how it works to many customers over the years and I usually get either the deer-in-the-headlights look or a response of "that's stupid and Ford should do it differently."

I've also been trying to explain allocations on mainstream vehicles to my new boss over the last few weeks and she just doesn't get it. Most lay people just think that a dealer orders what they want and how many they want and Ford will magically build them all in a timely fashion, especially retail orders for specific customers. If only it was that simple! The logistics of building nearly 2 million vehicles per year with the many vendors, suppliers, dealers, and regulatory agencies involved is staggering.

 

[bdub85]

The logistics of building nearly 2 million vehicles per year with the many vendors, suppliers, dealers, and regulatory agencies involved is staggering.

It's amazing how smoothly the process goes (or appears to go) with that many moving parts.

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