What determines when GM "picks up" an order?
Readers Digest Condensed Version: A calulated formula splits up planned production over time for each dealer is what determines when an order is "picked up".
Long version:
This it complicated and has many parts and is impacted by the car line and its stage of life. So what we will talk about is how the Solstice is being done as a Launch (new) Vehicle.
The 1,000 + units of production went to the 1000 First 1000 Exclusive Retail Order Solstices from the Apprentice program, the registration number mess ups or Free Maintenance Solstices, and the software mess ups or Zero Zip Sosltices. So we will be talking about regular allocation cars.
For the first round of regular allocation, Pontiac selected a four month time frame. They start by taking the amount of Solstices that they planned to build during that time frame. Then they determined a formula to split them up between their dealers.
Unlike other launch programs in the past, the Solstice allocation was not figure by percentage of Pontiac sales during the previous 12 months. Only 50% of the allocation went that way. The other 50% was based on potential roadster sales in each dealer's area of primary responsibility. This was determined by looking a selected roadster sales in the past, 11 or 12 different cars. This formula determined how many cars each dealer woul dbe allocated during that first four month persiod. This figure was provided to dealers through a special web site posting in early April.
The VOMS allocation system, will then break this four month number up into individual months. Dealers will see reports two months out that show them what they will have available.
At the beginning of a month, the system will break the number down into weekly dealer order cycle allocation quantities. Again a delaer will see a report with this infomation.
When each dealer order cycle starts on a Thursday, the dealer gets reports showing how many cars they are allocated, any production constraints (options/colors not available to order or in limited amounts), and how many of those constrained items they have been allocated.
Before 6pm on Saturday the dealer is responsible for confirming the amount of cars they were allocated, asking for more, make sure that there are enough buildable orders to match the request and constraints and placing his orders in a prioritized list.
Sunday and Monday, the system crunchs numbers and puts together its choices and schedules.
Tuesday, the delaers get the results of the order cycle. See what they did get. There is also one last chance on Tuesday to make any changes to orders, within constraints.
Tuesday night the orders selected are Preferenced or "picked up" by the system and assigned an event code of #2500.
In usual situations by the end of that week the system will have assigned the order's first Target Production Week. Currently this isn't being done for Solstice, but should return not long after regular allocation production starts.
Now thr process would have several differences if we were talking Grand Prix or Montana SV6, but this is how the Solstice is working.
Since the allocation is determined by calculations, it is possible for a dealer to get an allocation even though they may not have a sold order currently in their order banks. And before another dealer who may have sold orders in their bank. Hence the two themes of several of my posts. 9,000 orders may not be the first 9,000 built and oder number 9,000 may get built before order number 6,000.