Angrey
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I mean at some point, someone takes a supply/order risk. Hence the profit/reward for their risk. Otherwise there'd be way less value in assembly manufacturing.They're still 100% naked and projected as far as sourcing the various "optional" components is concerned.
People complain about order to delivery times as it is. What if you had to put your order in early enough for Ford to have a better handle on sourcing unknown quantities of components from their suppliers? Suppliers need lead time, too.
Norm
If McDonald's waited until each person at a drive through orders before they correspondingly ordered the cheese and meat and buns and soda, it would make for a pretty disjointed marketplace. Someone taking bulk order risk also simplifies the equation for the component suppliers and allows them to offer their stuff at reduced costs.
The point is, if Ford can somehow do direct/pass through ordering with a straighter path (likely through a dealer) not only will the customers get a better product to their liking, Ford/Dealerships will take less sales/storage risk.
Imagine a scenario where every vehicle Ford made already has a purchase agreement in place. Again, I don't know how Ford and it's dealerships share/split that risk, so maybe Ford already has some level of comfort (purchases from Dealers) before they spit out a zillion vehicles.
I can imagine whomever takes the risk also eats more of the upside (profit). Risk-Reward.
This whole discussion is kinda similar to home building. Some manufacturers take custom orders and build specifically (under contract). Some build a bunch of homes in a community or development for a developer (who then in turn sells them either early in the process where people can make customizations or after the completed product). Some builders do a mix of both. In the case where the developer takes the risk, they also take the additional loss or profit. In some cases the builder and the developer (for homes) share those risks. It's a whole spectrum.
But it would be pretty criminal if developers lobbied and had laws passed that say you can NOT purchase a home directly from a builder or contractor and you HAVE to go through a developer. We already have that somewhat with licensed realtors, who act more like brokers most of the time.
The point is, the home marketplace is much healthier. You can order/purchase a custom home built to your spec's or you can select from existing new inventory or buy used, there's an entire spectrum of choices and firms all along the equation.
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