We’ve all been there. You order something from a website and
then start watching the door for it to arrive. A few days go by, you start
checking your e-mail more often. A few weeks go by, you start to wonder, “Where
is my product?” After a few months, the wait can seem unbearable. Finally, you
call and ask; “Where the heck is my order?” Sometimes the answer suffices -
other times not so much.
But what causes the delay in Fesler customers receiving parts ordered from Fesler Built? Hopefully, this post will enlighten those waiting and wondering.
Fesler Built and its parts division, Fesler Billet, offer
hundreds of parts for sale covering a variety of vehicles and desired looks for
those vehicles. Ideally, the parts are all sitting in storage, waiting to
drop-ship. When orders come in for parts that are sitting on the shelves,
there’s rarely ever an issue.
However, when orders come in for parts that are
sold-out, problems arise. Often, a part will go from in-stock to sold-out very
quickly, as orders seem to come in quickly and in groups.
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| Fesler trunk hinges in production |
Part orders come in from customers constantly and are
processed by the type of part ordered. Once a certain amount of an out-of-stock
part has been ordered, an in-house work order goes out to begin production. The
challenge is in determining what to make first. Normally, production is based
on order date but, when some products sell more units than others, the plan
must be adjusted to ensure the back-order list doesn’t grow too large. Ideally,
parts that take longer to make are made before parts with faster turnaround
times to ensure customers are served in the same time-frame.
There’s also the small monkey wrench of prototyping. Fesler
is constantly looking for new product ideas to bring to market. These ideas
must be tested first and that testing ties up the machines which would
otherwise be producing parts for shipping. The demand for existing Fesler
Billet parts has grown to such a magnitude that production demands have allowed
almost no time for prototyping at all. While that’s a nice challenge for Fesler
to be faced with, it’s a difficult one, just the same.
Another aspect of the challenge is production times for
individual parts, which can vary widely. For example, a 1968 Camaro tail light,
which doesn’t see many orders, takes two-and-a-half hours to complete, per set.
A 1969 Camaro tail light, almost constantly teetering between “in-stock” and “back-ordered,”
takes 30 minutes per set. So, when a whole stack of orders for ’69 tail lights
comes in right after the last set on hand is sold - and along comes a few
orders for ’68 tail lights before that part has gotten its turn in regular
production, the question of which part to start work on first is a real
conundrum.
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| Fesler Billet 1969 Camaro "Fesler Sport" 3D Tail Lights |
In the end, Fesler Billet products, although produced in the
U.S.A. and held to the same standard of quality that Fesler Built cars and SEMA
productions are renowned for, are experiencing growing pains. Rest assured that
Fesler Billet is working hard to ensure customers receive parts they order as
quickly as possible.
