Allocation Spot and Scheduled for Production?

[highland58]

My Machdrop FE has these entries on the order:

I see retail and priority 10, not sure what order code, sales code, and price level are about.

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[rplinpa]

Actually, we've heard from a few FE owners who have build dates already. They're on other threads and earlier in this one. We hope most FE build dates will be issued later this week.

Mark, Is the only source of this information our dealer?

I have learned I am the only reservation with my dealer in Maryland. My number is under 4400 for an FE. It seems that everything I get information from the dealer is it for the general stock that will be coming out later for OKTB.

I'm really concerned that they even know the difference and are not asking the right questions of Ford. While I don't want to be a pest with them, when I read that some "FE owners ...have their build dates already," and only on Friday did my dealer even acknowledge that yeah, they goofed in the info they were giving me as it was about OKTB, not pre-orders.

What key thing should I be asking them for or place I should be telling them to look? My gut is telling me I am not on their radar with this car and if they foot it up I'll be pretty unhappy.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Mark, Is the only source of this information our dealer?

I have learned I am the only reservation with my dealer in Maryland. My number is under 4400 for an FE. It seems that everything I get information from the dealer is it for the general stock that will be coming out later for OKTB.

I'm really concerned that they even know the difference and are not asking the right questions of Ford. While I don't want to be a pest with them, when I read that some "FE owners ...have their build dates already," and only on Friday did my dealer even acknowledge that yeah, they goofed in the info they were giving me as it was about OKTB, not pre-orders.

What key thing should I be asking them for or place I should be telling them to look? My gut is telling me I am not on their radar with this car and if they foot it up I'll be pretty unhappy.

Yes, I keep getting those worried in the gut feelings too. I've yet to get much information from my dealer that I didn't already have and have given them lots that they didn't know.

@jhalkias and some others have build dates for their FEs but not many. My dealer shows mine "in preview". I expect most of the FEs will be scheduled by the end of this week.

Which dealer is yours?

 

[rplinpa]

Yes, I keep getting those worried in the gut feelings too. I've yet to get much information from my dealer that I didn't already have and have given them lots that they didn't know.

@jhalkias and some others have build dates for their FEs but not many. My dealer shows mine "in preview". I expect most of the FEs will be scheduled by the end of this week.

Which dealer is yours?

Crouse in Taneytown, MD

 

[rplinpa]

Crouse in Taneytown, MD

Do you think some of this may be regional? By that I mean, could the mid-west see cars before the Eastern dealers? I don't understand how cars are ordered by a dealer and therefore how this is being handled. I guess I assumed that when we went through the process of choosing a dealer and giving them our deposit we could just sit back and wait. Now I fear far more is actually in the dealer's hands and if they are not on it, things could fall through the cracks.

 

[jhalkias]

I think that is a valid possibility. You had a pre-Mach Drop FE conversion......correct?
Did your order form say Retail or Stock? If it looks like this then I would expect that your car is being assembled this week even though your dealer will see a 11/23 build date. Of course, in the end it doesn't matter because it will sit and wait for OKTB with the others.

Here is what he printed for me after the price drop.

 

[MailGuy]

From what I can tell, I would say the general intent is that First Editions are among the first to be assembled but it's not exclusive. That would be practically impossible to manage logistically and if Ford were to attempt to do that, then all our cars would be pushed out at least 6 month further.

That being said, there is another issue that I am starting to recognize and that is how the dealers are reading the system. There is a process for placing orders for vehicles. It is multi step and has some similar language like Accepted, Allocated, Scheduled, Submitted, Sent, Invoiced, Produced and Released. Each represents a different part of the process even though they might sound the same to our ears.

If you were ordering an F150 or Explorer then the dealers are pretty good at following along with the process and can even predict with reasonable accuracy when it might arrive at their location.

With a new vehicle model like the Mach E, there are a bunch of new complications that most dealers aren't even aware of. The online reservation time stamp thing is a whole new process that pretty much threw a monkey wrench into the Accepted and Allocated processes. The Mach E Drop probably threw fuel on the fire a little bit as well. Then we had a worldwide pandemic that provided a bunch of new logistic issues and commodity restrictions.

If an inventory manager at the dealership interprets the information as if it were a current model already in production then expect a fair degree of confusion and misinformation through no real fault of their own. They are just going with previous experience and history. Some inventory managers have a better understanding of the Mach E ordering process, especially if they have a lot of orders in their system. Not necessarily because they are more competent but probably because they have more examples to observe. To add another thing to the mix.....I wager that very few dealerships even know about OKTB. I only learned about it here myself so it doesn't surprise me that the dealerships aren't including that into their analysis when they look at the data in their system.

And.....
Consider there are basically Retail and Non-Retail (stock) orders. For the purposes of this discussion about the MME....Retail is Converted Orders and Non-Retail is FCTP vehicles. However, there is a way to submit a retail order that will be included in the FCTP group but it requires someone in Dearborn to make the entry. Those orders can pretty much be any trim level (except GT of course) so expect a few to slip in with the FCTP and FE vehicles through this process. There are regional agents that represent a group of dealerships and it's basically their job to push the factory to meets the needs of their customers (the dealers). Some of these agents are more effective than others so the clever ones will be able to game the system to a small degree and have greater success for whatever their goals might be. Even so, we still have the date stamp thing as our "MME Police" so that is going to help minimize favors (abuse) quite a bit.

I would say that Ford is doing a pretty good job regulating the ordering process with their dealers and will provide information on a "need-to-know" basis for some things. This is a bit new but the dealers are getting the hang of it as each week passes. For example....once the vehicles are Sent to Plant....the invoice and Monroney sticker should be available but I seriously doubt that will happen here because the MPGe information is there and they are keeping that info close to the chest right now.

I hope this information helps and doesn't cause even more confusion than we have already.
to be super honest....the information shared here by those with insider information is the most reliable and useful stuff to digest. While your dealership may be well meaning......I recommend you take whatever they say about production timing with a grain of salt until these things start shipping. At that point it will be more typical of a process and they should catch up quickly.

Just my $0.02....

I agree with all of your points. Ford Motor Company put us into a new experiment last year. I've been happy to participate and even encouraged that they're attempting to evolve their business model. I see this as proof they're listening to customers.

Just in case anyone from Ford is listening, I will share some perspective, with no disrespect or harm intended.

Many of us started out with a direct relationship with Ford Motor Company when we placed our reservations. The company took the initial deposit and handled all communications. Big fan of that, no real complaints about that process. When it came time to order though that started to change. I got my deposit back and gave a new one to a dealer. The dealer is now grasping to add value with limited/no information and actually doing harm to the process.

The weaknesses of dealer engagement have become all too apparent, as eloquently outlined above. The troubling part is that it appears the dealer might still have a greater ability to impact my order than I originally believed. Hoping that's not the case. As the customer though I feel caught in the middle with a less than satisfying feeling.

I'm holding out hope that this forum has the best information. No reason not to, it's all we have at this point.

Do you think some of this may be regional? By that I mean, could the mid-west see cars before the Eastern dealers? I don't understand how cars are ordered by a dealer and therefore how this is being handled. I guess I assumed that when we went through the process of choosing a dealer and giving them our deposit we could just sit back and wait. Now I fear far more is actually in the dealer's hands and if they are not on it, things could fall through the cracks.

Feels like it to me. I asked a similar question on a different thread.

 

[eastern refugee]

I talked to my dealer. Orders have still not been placed. My dealer has over 100 on order. They are expecting to know next week as that is when the reservations actually change to orders.
Galpin Ford LA

 

[SnBGC]

I agree with all of your points. Ford Motor Company put us into a new experiment last year. I've been happy to participate and even encouraged that they're attempting to evolve their business model. I see this as proof they're listening to customers.

Just in case anyone from Ford is listening, I will share some perspective, with no disrespect or harm intended.

Many of us started out with a direct relationship with Ford Motor Company when we placed our reservations. The company took the initial deposit and handled all communications. Big fan of that, no real complaints about that process. When it came time to order though that started to change. I got my deposit back and gave a new one to a dealer. The dealer is now grasping to add value with limited/no information and actually doing harm to the process.

The weaknesses of dealer engagement have become all too apparent, as eloquently outlined above. The troubling part is that it appears the dealer might still have a greater ability to impact my order than I originally believed. Hoping that's not the case. As the customer though I feel caught in the middle with a less than satisfying feeling.

I'm holding out hope that this forum has the best information. No reason not to, it's all we have at this point.

Feels like it to me. I asked a similar question on a different thread.

Agree completely.
Real change can only happen if the law makers revisit policy regarding manufacturers and dealerships. Ford's hands are tied at the moment. They are in discussion but the voting public will need to make their voice heard if anything is going to happen there.

 

[SnBGC]

Here is what he printed for me after the price drop.

Retail order. MP2

 

[Maric]

I talked to my dealer. Orders have still not been placed. My dealer has over 100 on order. They are expecting to know next week as that is when the reservations actually change to orders.
Galpin Ford LA

That seems fishy. I thought Reservations had to be converted to Orders months ago? (at least for FE and Premium)

 

[ConejoRed]

I talked to my dealer. Orders have still not been placed. My dealer has over 100 on order. They are expecting to know next week as that is when the reservations actually change to orders.
Galpin Ford LA

I also just spoke with Galpin who is our dealer and was told the same... over 100 orders out of their 180+ reservations and that they expect to know next week which "orders" have be "scheduled" and that they would have Vins when they are. We have a Route 1 ordered so hoping that the limited number of those that seem to have been ordered may mean better chances of getting it earlier as they will want to test those builds along in between the Premiums etc. ChasingCoral's spreadsheet seemed to also forecast that they will build them all early as well.

He also mentioned that they would be having an invitation event to view the MachE on November 14th (I had mentioned I had signed up to preview at another dealer).

 

[jparduhn70]

Has anyone like @trutolife27 established where the Mach Drop FEs fall into production? From talking to Program HQ in the email, it's a separate order from my initial reservation, so I'm concerned that the build date could be later than my original Premium with a 100072XX place in line. I guess it all depends on how much longer it would be for me to take delivery to decide whether or not to scrap the Mach Drop order. I'm sorry if I'm asking a redundant question, but I can't find anything.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Has anyone like @trutolife27 established where the Mach Drop FEs fall into production? From talking to Program HQ in the email, it's a separate order from my initial reservation, so I'm concerned that the build date could be later than my original Premium with a 100072XX place in line. I guess it all depends on how much longer it would be for me to take delivery to decide whether or not to scrap the Mach Drop order. I'm sorry if I'm asking a redundant question, but I can't find anything.

@jhalkias was a conversion right before the Mach Drops, so his might be an indication. He was given the week of 11/23 but that may be off since it is also OKTB and we've seen how reliable some dealer info is.

 

[JellyBelly]

My Machdrop FE has these entries on the order:

I see retail and priority 10, not sure what order code, sales code, and price level are about.

I see the same - except: Order Code is A010 and Sales Code is F71100.
I think the sales code is dealer related and I dont know what the Order code means. Price level is the revison or version number of pricing - the previous pricing was I believe 110 and after cuts its shown as 120

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