Payment - Vender Sales

[nautilus]

I believe that the problem that we all suffer from is sending out hard earned money, and then waiting for what seams forever to receive product ! This can be solved simply buy placing an order and sending payment when vender has what you want ready to send, if the buyer backs out, then the vender only has stock in hand ready for shippment when the next person calls. Mass production of hand made subs kits, cylinders/ electroiics is a time consuming and teedeus, but those who choses to do this weather as a hobby or full time biss have a obligation to the consumer to send out the product as soon as money changes hand. I have been on both sides "sales & buying" and can think of nothing worse than waiting for a shipment that has been paid for to come!! Stock piling of a product, is I think the only way to solve this problem by the vender !, some say that it is a waste of material , money, and time, I beleive that you will sell what you make sooner or later, so I plan to stock pile kits and parts in the future products, I plan to sell . I admit that I am guillty of of letting down folks in the past and am not proud of it in any shape or form !!! , making the same product over and over is a pain in the butt, try it if you dont belive us, and new models take a back seat from this, as well as personial time to play, on the same hand if the heat is to hot in the kitchen get out, right !! I think if you have a problem with a vender, and he or she has tried " all means possible to get their product from a vender" then and only then, should the board be used to warn others, and as a means to light a fire under a vender who is slacking!! But slaynder and beating up on indaviduals/venders is wrong!!!! and we should reframe from publick statements that those of us with a morals, will regrett later saying. This is only my oppinion and as they say oppinions are like ---- everybody has one! Brian Starkes

[dietzer]

As someone who at one

As someone who at one time was one of those waiting 'forever' for an order, I can sympathize. I understand the frustration because I have been there before.

However, I think that requiring our vendors to maintain inventory is unrealistic. Inventory is both time and money (especially money), and if we think its tough waiting months/years to see fulfillment from a $200 order, think of how tough it is to spend several thousand dollars to build up an inventory based on the hope of decent future sales that may likely take years, not months to realize. You can go out of business waiting to sell off your inventory...

Furthermore, many of our vendors sub-contract out their work, and those sub-contractors have to be paid up front. For example, I believe that Lee Upshaw sub-contracts out his fiberglass hull work to a local professional fiberglass shop. I also believe that Matt Thor subcontracts out some or all of the assembly of his electronic modules. These sub-contractors usually demand payment up front, or at least when their part is finished -- not when the vendor manages to sell it.

If a vendor has the cash flow and personal drive to build up an inventory, that's great! It will certainly give him a competitive advantage over the other vendors. But I think very few of our vendors fall into this category, because the volume of orders isn't large enough to support maintaining an inventory.

I do fully agree that every effort should be made to contact the vendor by email/phone before posting publicly. I would go further and say that the 1st public posting should simply state that they are trying to get ahold of a vendor to discuss an order and leave it at that. If that fails, then and only then resort to describing the full problem in public. I think we'd see fewer flame wars touched off this way.

That's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth!

Carl

[ramius-ii]

As someone who is just

As someone who is just starting a company, it’s interesting to see thing through other people’s eyes. I’d like to add a few pieces of what I see is missing information and to offer some solutions.
On the subject of inventory, some states have an inventory tax that must be paid every year. There are companies who take their entire stock room, put it in boxcars and send it out of state during the inventory tax period.
Few products are not subject to changes. So, again, an inventory can be counter productive with a change on the horizon.
I have 194 pages of suppliers with 11 suppliers on a page. What impresses me the most is the communications. When a supplier sends an e-mail or fax stating when a product will ship. Second, is when they provide a tracking number for a given carrier. From time to time things happen. I have one shipment where boxes 2 and 3 arrived and for some reason, box 1, went to the other side of the country! The bottom-line here that good relations (IMO) are based upon communications. This, of course, can have both a positive and negative effect.
One our people found an insect in his food on a flight. He sent off a letter of complaint and received a very quick response. The letter said the airline had contracted with a new supplier, the stewardess had been transferred and the pilot reprimanded! We were all very impressed! Then, he showed us the post-in that was accidentally left attached to the letter to the guy’s secretary. It read “Sent this SOB our cockroach letter”.
Suppliers who provide goods and services to us are a part of our expanding “family”. I know of no supplier that isn’t ready to assist any of us with problems. I hope when people post anything they keep in mind a new resource probably has in the back of their mind]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Scale Shipyard / WLU]

As someone who at one

As someone who at one time was one of those waiting 'forever' for an order, I can sympathize. I understand the frustration because I have been there before.

However, I think that requiring our vendors to maintain inventory is unrealistic. Inventory is both time and money (especially money), and if we think its tough waiting months/years to see fulfillment from a $200 order, think of how tough it is to spend several thousand dollars to build up an inventory based on the hope of decent future sales that may likely take years, not months to realize. You can go out of business waiting to sell off your inventory...

Furthermore, many of our vendors sub-contract out their work, and those sub-contractors have to be paid up front. For example, I believe that Lee Upshaw sub-contracts out his fiberglass hull work to a local professional fiberglass shop. I also believe that Matt Thor subcontracts out some or all of the assembly of his electronic modules. These sub-contractors usually demand payment up front, or at least when their part is finished -- not when the vendor manages to sell it.

I do fully agree that every effort should be made to contact the vendor by email/phone before posting publicly. I would go further and say that the 1st public posting should simply state that they are trying to get ahold of a vendor to discuss an order and leave it at that. If that fails, then and only then resort to describing the full problem in public. I think we'd see fewer flame wars touched off this way.

That's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth!

Carl

I make hulls for 20 subs and about 120 surface ships and in addition I also make weapons and fittings packages for these, now...just which of these should I keep in stock at all times, and how much should I be willing to pay a month for the space to store them and how much should I raise my prices to cover the additional cost to provide this service????

I have been doing this business for over 25 years, I have never been able to read the minds of the customers out there.

2 years ago I made up 3 1]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_cool.gif[/img] I can invest the $50,000.00 needed, into inventory and a place to store it.

If I only made a few hulls etc. ...as just about all of my competitors do, then not only could I keep everything in stock........I should keep everything in stock.

A few years ago, I could not beg my fiberglass shop to get my hulls done quicker and going out to another shop and paying over triple my cost to get an order done was not an option, after all I am here to make a living, that would be like someone paying $200.00 a day to fly to work so that they can make $180.00 dollars a day.

I have to say that with the kinds of postings that have been going on in these message boards, as well as some things I know about some other vendors that we rely on, I have to rethink if I want to even move forward with the completion of 9 submarine hull masters that I have here now. And, I have 7 other Submarine hull masters in other shops at this time.

Carl was one of the poor guys waiting for a Fleet Boat from me years ago when I was fighting to get the fiberglass shop to get my work done, 2 weeks after he cancelled his order the hull set was finally completed and ready to sit a wait for a new buyer, that took over a year.

Carl....you were right on with your post here, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. I do not want to even start in about the bounced checks and bogus credit cards.

W.L. Upshaw

[tsenecal]

Guys,

I have been watching this

[color=#000000]Guys,

I have been watching this post (and its off-shoots) with great anticipation, mainly because I have a sub kit on order from a vendor.

Let me first state that I am not in a position as of this post where I feel like I am being slighted by the vendor, in fact I still have the utmost faith that some day soon (within the next 2 or 3 weeks) I will have a new sub.

My question is this]

[ramius-ii]

Hi Tim]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_lol.gif

I just

Hi Tim]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_lol.gif[/img]

I just wanted to add one comment for those whose vendor problems seem large. Call me. I can spend hours on supplier problems that are difficult to resolve. Right now I have one company who is to supply cable with a 2-week lead time. The cable was ordered in March and now it's almost August! I now have 3 very expensive vehicles (soon to be 6) incapable of generating income for the company as there is no cable. But I'm not under any pressure.

Best to all, Ed