Cobaltchat.com

Its not just the way it is, its the new management philosophy of "just in time inventory". Saves overhead sure, and as newer tax laws dont favor assets I get, but what if only "one" of your suppliers has an issue, say the major one like a supplier of resin? On top of this its a global market where now most of our supplies are coming from not so stable countries. Back in the old days a company would have 6 months or better supply in inventory and if that was the current mindset this covid situation would have weathered much better.

I own an IT Services company and we do lots of projects involving networking infrastructure. Our back order log is now at an all time high and we have been told by our suppliers it's probably going to be this way for at least the next 12 months. I feel extremely fortunate to have received my R6 Surf in late May. My dealer had ordered the boat fairly close to the announcement date to get a good queue position.

tfarmer wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:08 am I own an IT Services company and we do lots of projects involving networking infrastructure. Our back order log is now at an all time high and we have been told by our suppliers it's probably going to be this way for at least the next 12 months. I feel extremely fortunate to have received my R6 Surf in late May. My dealer had ordered the boat fairly close to the announcement date to get a good queue position.

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dustinm wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 7:56 am Its not just the way it is, its the new management philosophy of "just in time inventory". Saves overhead sure, and as newer tax laws dont favor assets I get, but what if only "one" of your suppliers has an issue, say the major one like a supplier of resin? On top of this its a global market where now most of our supplies are coming from not so stable countries. Back in the old days a company would have 6 months or better supply in inventory and if that was the current mindset this covid situation would have weathered much better.

This is very true and I didn't realize it till now. The car manufacturers are getting bit in the arse from this.
Not sure how many of you know who pirece Manufacturer is. But if you look at your local fire truck it was built a mile from my house. I remember if you wanted to be a supplier for them let's say for leds you had to stock so many at a time. Now I bet you have to stock 1
Times a changing boys and girl.

It is truly amazing how the gov shut down means of production, paid people to keep consuming, then they are shocked when things aren't produced.

I guess these were the "non-essential" jobs that were shut down. I never meet anyone that thought there job was "non-essential".
As for JITI I don't think anybody could have foreseen the government shutting people done for months on end. I don't think MFG have ever carried 12 months of inventory.

Good news here folks. Ordered my R6 outboard in late November. Boat is on a truck headed to the dealership as we speak. This is the week for me. Been patiently waiting as many have. Excited to say the least. No more empty trailer. Hope things level out in terms of the wait for folks. Stay strong.

Yea.!

Norris_Boating wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:23 pm It is truly amazing how the gov shut down means of production, paid people to keep consuming, then they are shocked when things aren't produced.

I guess these were the "non-essential" jobs that were shut down. I never meet anyone that thought there job was "non-essential".
As for JITI I don't think anybody could have foreseen the government shutting people done for months on end. I don't think MFG have ever carried 12 months of inventory.

Well the big problem Cobalt had was resin and that was caused by a cold snap in Texas.

Im in manufacturing management. We have and do carry up to 5 and 10 years worth of inventory for our machines.

You carry 5 to 10 years of raw materials, or are you talking replacement parts for your machine? Obviously very different.
Places are reporting 4-6 week delay from resin shortage due to the cold snap, though this is an issue, it is only part of the story.
There are shortages of windows, stainless steel, fabrics, computer chips, truck drivers and of course labor. Cobalt obviously uses all of these.
I will stop posting on this as it isn't the forum for it.

There was a great article in the journal over the weekend about Polaris, and the issues they’re having. Interesting to see how they’re adapting, and they aren’t alone. I took a peek at the Polaris forums; they’re losing their minds. Cobaltchat members appear to be handling delays much better. I don’t know how the Auto / Polaris / Boat dealers are making it work. They have no products to sell.

I have a R8 surf on order. Original schedule deliver was first week in June. Delivery was updated to sometime in July, with a follow-on update of mid-July. Just found out yesterday the current estimated delivery date is end of August. My dealer has been doing his best and I understand Covid delays, but its seems Cobalt HQ does not know how to plan and communicate. At least an estimated 3 month delay on my delivery. Frustrating to say the least.

Tywebb95 wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:12 pm I have a R8 surf on order. Original schedule deliver was first week in June. Delivery was updated to sometime in July, with a follow-on update of mid-July. Just found out yesterday the current estimated delivery date is end of August. My dealer has been doing his best and I understand Covid delays, but its seems Cobalt HQ does not know how to plan and communicate. At least an estimated 3 month delay on my delivery. Frustrating to say the least.

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Hey Tw95 ...so glad you found us!

Sorry to hear about your Cobalt woes. It's nationwide from boats to airplanes to cars etc. I'm sure you prefer the delay with it done correctly rather than a substandard job jury rigging what needs to be done to get it to the customer. Stay patient my friend.

Be sure to post pics and welcome aboard mate!
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At the end of the day?
First world problems.

Everyone is frustrated and it sucks, but to blame the manufacturer for not planning what would have taken a crystal ball, clairvoyant pre-pandemic foresight, and then add in severe winter weather issues that are out of everyone’s control, as well the current, and back breaking labor shortages EVERYWHERE..well, it’s ridiculous to blame anyone.. This is all a result of a crazy time in our lives, that no one saw coming.

Imagine what it must be like to solve manufacturers issues, while accepting direct blame from customers.
Weather, Covid, trucking, supplies, foam and resins..everything is just a link in VERY weak chain.
Communication? I’m guessing there is nothing to communicate.

I stopped by my truck dealer to see about trading in our plow truck now, to take advantage of extremely high trade-in values and order another for one winter. LOL…
They said they would give top buck today, but the new one may not arrive till spring…
New car lots are empty, and I’m sure they were as prepared for this crazy reality as Cobalt.
Patience is hard, but not much else will help.

Tuscany...good post and I agree with most of it.

But...communication has been terrible, from factory to dealer.

I am a long-time Cobalt guy...but the lack of communication for folks like me and others in this thread (R series orders, so serious $$$)...has not been good. We have every right to voice complaints about that.

My last update from the dealership (forwarding a message from Cobalt) was six weeks ago. Radio silence since then, with only a few months now remaining in the 2021 boat season.

Surprising good news yesterday for me. After being told mid-July with not a lot of confidence my R3 showed up at my dealer ahead of schedule yesterday in time for the holiday weekend. Hoping you all have the same luck soon!