Author Topic: Backorders- Am I the only one waiting months for parts?  (Read 5329 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

cyrusb

  • Kept man
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,616
  • Karma: 2
  • There's a last time for everything
Honestly ,there is no excuse for this in this century. I have had fender struts for a backordered 350 fender for 3 months and no one can tell me if the fender is even close. Could i have the option of paying the extra shipping?  Throttle cable?,backordered, with no shipping date in sight. I raise this question because Saturday I went to my local dealer (formula one, Oakdale) for points and a throttle cable and they don't have them either. I fact they did not have any parts, They told me they might have some points somewhere, I left. That leaves me to rely on CMW. and I'm not so sure about them....
« Last Edit: March 12, 2008, 09:29:42 pm by cyrusb »
2005E Fixed and or Replaced: ignition, fenders,chainguard,wires,carb,headlight,seat,tailight,sprockets,chain,shock springs,fork springs, exhaust system, horn,shifter,clutch arm, trafficators,crankcase vent.


Kevin Mahoney

  • Gotten my hands dirty on bikes more than once -
  • Global Moderator
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,584
  • Karma: 0
  • Cozy Sidecar distributor/former Royal Enfield dist
Reply #1 on: March 12, 2008, 10:32:29 pm
You are not the only one waiting for a backordered item. We stock around 5,000 part numbers and it is inevitable that we will be out of somethings. Murphys law would also say that the chances of us being out of something is in direct proportion to how badly you wanted it. We typically have the most difficulty with things we need from the factory and painted parts are the most difficult. Even though it may be the 21st Century the supply line from India is in the 1950's. Our order cycle from order date to when we receive the goods can be as long as 8 months unless they backorder it and don't tell us until we get the order. Then it is even longer. An emergency airfreight order is 30 days minimum. It is just the nature of the beast. India is still a developing nation in many areas and is extremely short of the modern infrastructure that developed countries or even China has. It is what it is and there is nothing to be done about it.
  There is a new parts guy at the factory and we were all totally shocked when we got notified that the stuff we ordered in the last days of December 2007 will be here tomorrow. That is a record for a parts shipment from the factory. He says it will be this way from now on, but time will tell. We also order from the general market in India if we are having trouble with the factory, but many items are for export bikes only which means they are only available from the factory. We also have to be very careful about substandard or counterfeit parts when we buy this way. this can be somewhat faster but not by much.
  Is the throttle cable you are looking for a premium cable? We are having a bit of a struggle with our American supplier of these, They have made some errors lately that we are not happy with and are holding an order over their head. We do have tons of OEM throttle cables. It is also possible that your cable is in our backorder system under an old number as most of the throttle cables have no less than three different numbers for the same part. If you let us know the year of your bike and your name we can easily look and see what is what.
Our only other operational option is to do what our best competitor does and that is to not accept back orders. This works for him, but it does not fit with our philosophy. If you need something since we also are the supplier of the bike itself we think the backorder system is mandatory so that you aren't left to call us once in a while to see if we have decided to carry something. We realize that it is disappointing at times, but it is the best we can do.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


cyrusb

  • Kept man
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,616
  • Karma: 2
  • There's a last time for everything
Reply #2 on: March 12, 2008, 10:56:15 pm
The throttle cable is a premium, I could not see using another OEM for obvious reasons, and wait for it I will. Glad to hear something is getting better with the supply line, I hear you on the Indian infrastructure dilemma, but its hard to imagine a nation so adept at fixing your computer from 8000 miles away having trouble producing a fender in under 8 months. Thanks for the prompt reply, and good luck with the new parts guy. cyrusb
2005E Fixed and or Replaced: ignition, fenders,chainguard,wires,carb,headlight,seat,tailight,sprockets,chain,shock springs,fork springs, exhaust system, horn,shifter,clutch arm, trafficators,crankcase vent.


Vince

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,693
  • Karma: 0
Reply #3 on: March 12, 2008, 11:58:49 pm
     This back order issue is not confined to Royal Enfield. I deal with the big 4 Japanese as well as many alternative suppliers. Even mighty Honda has back ordered parts for 90 days. Some times I waited out the back order only to have them say never mind and drop the part. The most modern computerized systems are only as good as the people running them. Some times parts just don't get scheduled for production in a timely manner. Based on my 34 years in this business I rate any one with a fill rate over 90% as excellent. CMW does this. And there are alternatives. The stock throttle cable is fine when properly routed and lubed. The only cable issues I've had were caused by burrs at the attachment points. A file fixed that. As for the local dealer not having points..... Shame on him. I carry less than 1/100th of what CMW carries and I have a 90% fill on regular maintenance items. I do order a lot of non-critical items such as accessories or body parts. These are not cost effective to carry at dealership volumes. But parts such as points, manifolds, push rods, hardware, etc should be in stock. I'm sorry your dealer won't commit to supporting the product, but  Kevin has. The folks at CMW work HARD and they do as good a job as I have ever seen in the industry. Are they perfect? Of course not. But they are really good, they try hard,  and they CARE.


cyrusb

  • Kept man
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,616
  • Karma: 2
  • There's a last time for everything
Reply #4 on: March 13, 2008, 12:57:10 am
I certainly understand how there could be availability problems, especially on non maintenance items such as my fender. But I had no idea it could be up to 8 months. You have to agree thats a bit much, you can have a family in 9. I must apologise for my impatience, its just that when your over 50 you never know how many haircuts you have left.
2005E Fixed and or Replaced: ignition, fenders,chainguard,wires,carb,headlight,seat,tailight,sprockets,chain,shock springs,fork springs, exhaust system, horn,shifter,clutch arm, trafficators,crankcase vent.


Leonard

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,287
  • Karma: 0
  • I loved this bike!!
Reply #5 on: March 13, 2008, 01:08:35 pm
  I sure hope lack of a premium throttle cable isn't keeping you from riding!  Carry a spare and ride on brother.

The throttle cable is a premium, I could not see using another OEM for obvious reasons, and wait for it I will.  cyrusb
2009 Triumph Bonneville T100
2004 Royal Enfield Sixty-5 (RIP)
2001 Kawasaki W650 (going, going...gone)
http://www.romeoriders.com


Kevin Mahoney

  • Gotten my hands dirty on bikes more than once -
  • Global Moderator
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,584
  • Karma: 0
  • Cozy Sidecar distributor/former Royal Enfield dist
Reply #6 on: March 13, 2008, 03:09:08 pm
Fenders are an interesting issue. Painted parts are the most difficult parts for us to obtain on a regular basis. Royal Enfield is running at full capacity. They have waiting lists for some models in India. One of the bottlenecks in production is the painted parts. They are faced with the conundrum that all manufacturers face, so we stop production because we are out of fenders, or do we service that guy 10,000 miles away who can only yell in the phone or over e-mail. To exacerbate the problem we are very picky about what we will accept, much more so than people in the Indian market. It is getting better but if it was easy everyone would be doing it. If you are the one waiting for a painted part you can bet your wait will be the longest. We try to keep  quite a bit of stuff in stock but we do run out as you have experienced.
 
On another note, India is a wonderful place that is absolutely booming, but not without growing pains. Because it is a strong democracy (unlike Communist Red China) things don't get done as easily as in China. If the Chinese want to put in a road, they just throw the peasants out with no argument. In India people have rights and at some level the Government cares about them. To be sure, like all places, they probably care about those with money a bit more. If dock workers or truck drivers  (who are generally unionized - yes the RE is Union Made) strike it is legal, In China you just disappear. I have no beef with China, but they have been able to modernize by government decree. India has had to do it in a democratic way with a lot of talk, soul searching and arguing. India is throwing tons of money at the problem and I am starting to see the differences however. China has no pollution laws and India's are rather strict and getting much much stricter. Again a long way to go, but they are making solid progress and are committed to the process - more than we are in the US. You also have to remember that parts are still often times made in small workshops by small business people which means that there are errors, disruptions etc. Parts are still delivered by hand drawn carts, Bullock carts and bicycles in many cases. Not modern, but do you put all of these hard working people out of business? Fenders and tanks are still basically handmade and not just stamped out by the thousands. run your hand carefully over the sides of a tank sometime and you can feel what I mean. It is quaint and cool, but creates manufacturing problems.
   For better or worse this is changing, but it is what it is at present.
  At any rate this is just my pro-India rant. In general Indians are among some of the smartest, most well educated, honest and hard working people I have ever met.
 
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


cyrusb

  • Kept man
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,616
  • Karma: 2
  • There's a last time for everything
Reply #7 on: March 13, 2008, 08:20:17 pm
  I sure hope lack of a premium throttle cable isn't keeping you from riding!  Carry a spare and ride on brother.

I am running the spare...Kevin, allright, your swinging after the bell. I got the message 3 posts ago.. Apologising once more, Cyrus
« Last Edit: March 13, 2008, 08:45:54 pm by cyrusb »
2005E Fixed and or Replaced: ignition, fenders,chainguard,wires,carb,headlight,seat,tailight,sprockets,chain,shock springs,fork springs, exhaust system, horn,shifter,clutch arm, trafficators,crankcase vent.


Kevin Mahoney

  • Gotten my hands dirty on bikes more than once -
  • Global Moderator
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,584
  • Karma: 0
  • Cozy Sidecar distributor/former Royal Enfield dist
Reply #8 on: April 26, 2008, 08:53:17 pm
Please don't ever feel the need to apologize to me unless you have been rude, untruthful etc. (You have been none of those things) Comments and questions negative and otherwise are growth opportunities and are welcome. I suppose I sound defensive from time to time, but that is more my personality than my intention - just work with me here.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


Suitor_Stu

  • Scooter
  • **
  • Posts: 47
  • Karma: 0
Reply #9 on: May 01, 2008, 12:54:09 am
I was having an Issue with a silencer I ordered from an ebay seller - namely that I had been waiting 6 weeks and nothing had appeared.  Cannot complain though since without hesitation they refunded me when I was growing slightly impatient!  In the last email I got from them they said that they had been waiting on a batch of chromed parts from india which had been on order since dec07/jan08 (and that there were a load of silencers in with that order).  They said that apparently there was some shortage of materials integral to the chroming process in India, and for this reason they could not accurately say how long it would be...Not that i'm complaining now mind, I've got another small chunk to put towards a full (british made) exhaust and silencer system rather than just having a cheaper slip-on exhaust with my blanked off OEM downpipe.  Just got to wait longer to get the cash together!

Stu