JakeRich

Y’know, I’ve been reading lots of posts about the shipping dates, order dates and the various status messages on the Dell website and the Dell telephone response line. I think most of us don’t understand the Dell model and how it applies to the Axim.

When you order from Dell they use a just-in-time approach to parts and manufacture. That means that they depend on daily, sometimes hourly, deliveries of parts to assemble. Don’t think of a vast warehouse of parts from which your beauty is built, think an empty room where just as the technician gets ready to install the hard drive the drive arrives for him to install, not sooner, not later. It’s tricky, but that’s how Dell does it.

Now imagine that for some reason you and a buddy call in at the exact same moment and order the exact same machine, but you want a DVD drive and he orders a CDROM drive. The software in the factory keeps track and notices that it has a CDROM drive, but no DVD drives, so your buddy goes first because they can fulfill his requirement and get paid for the parts in his machine. That getting paid cuts down on their expenses so he goes first. You wait. Now assume that another buddy calls the following day and orders a machine just like yours, but again with a CDROM. Again, the software sees that CDROMs are available, but no DVD drives, so your other buddy goes in front of you because, again, they can sell those parts NOW and not keep parts on the floor not making money. It’s a bummer that the later order went first, but neither of you will know and even if you do, you’ll assume that it was because of the parts, which it is.

Ok, now move that model to the Axim. No parts to assemble, just stuff to put in a box. Now Dell’s motivation is to reduce shipping to a minimum, so they pre-position stuff in locations all around the country. They save on shipping by having the manufacturer in Taiwan direct ship to these distribution points. Then Dell limits the service area for each of these warehouses to keep shipping costs down. So, your buddy in Walla Walla, WA and you in Altoona, PA both order the same thing on the same day at exactly the same time. Dell has tried to anticipate demand, but for some reason, like the record snowfall we are having today, got it wrong and the warehouse in Harrisburg, PA has no stock, but the warehouse in Tacoma, WA, does. In Texas, at the website, the information is that “on average” it’s taking a week to fulfill, so the web site says shipping is today + 7.

However, because stock is not on the floor in Harrisburg, you wait, but your buddy in Walla Walla gets his Ax in 3 days because there is stock in Tacoma. Now somebody else in Walla Walla ordered the day after you and your buddy did and because stock is available, he gets his delivered in the same 3 days, which is before you.

Normally nobody would notice this activity, but because we all haunt the web and because we all post our order/deliver dates, we DO notice, and we get unhappy because we believe that it ought to be first in, first out. But to Dell, the object is to minimize costs, so they do first in, first out of the nearest warehouse to you not worldwide.

From Dell’s perspective, they offered a date, and as long as they get it to you by that date, they have met the goal. We, as much as we might not like it, should not complain because Dell got somebody else a machine sooner, but only if they don’t get ours to us by the day they offered. And if they have a reasonable reason for a delay, we should probably not complain even if it is late. It's their model, and we bought into that model when we ordered.

Finally, the web site is geared to the manufacture process. The various stages mean nothing to an Axim. There is no manufacture, only a shipping process. But there is no motivation on their part to spend money on what is a small part of their total revenue stream, so they leave it as it is and force fit the Axim process. The only thing on that site that is of any value is the estimated ship date. All else is bogus, worthless and of no meaning. Even the estimated ship date is only an ESTIMATE, not a guarantee, so you can’t bank on it. The same goes for the telephone update and even calling a Dell sales rep.

Basically, order it and forget it. It will arrive when it arrives, not sooner, not later.

BruceP

Quite the lecture.
First, there should not be such differences in delays across the country. Some people getting theirs within 3 days others waiting 5+ weeks.
Futhermore, the Dell "Order Status" site is aggravating to the point that many are bailing out when a little thought could salvage good will from customers.

I ordered on 1/15, then the est ship date was Feb4
Confirmation sent the next day changed ship date to Feb10
It stayed there for a few weeks then on
Feb5 ship date was changed to Feb14
Feb9 ship date was changed to Feb17
Feb11 ship date was changed to Feb18
Feb12 ship date was changed to Feb19
Feb13 ship date was changed to Feb20
Feb14 ship date was changed to Feb21
Feb17 ship date was changed to Feb24
Feb18 ship date was changed to Feb25
Feb19 ship date was changed to Feb26

VNgo

Dell's only fault in this, really, is not anticipating that Axims would sell like hotcakes. That's the only reason there's any problems; their ordering and support infrastructure simply wasn't adequate for the situation.

Their business model makes sense; if they tried to have everything in one centralized warehouse (which would make things "fair" in that it would always be first come, first served), they would have to pay ludicrous shipping. It's like retail stores; sometimes your local store is out of stock and one in another area isn't.

ehobbs

Sorry, Dell screwed up on this one.

They start out by saying that the Axim's are "now available" on thier website (which they are still saying). Then when I started the order process they said 1-2 weeks. After placing the order they gave me a 4 week lead time and it's beginning to look doubtful that they'll make that!.

We're purchasing the Axim to compare it with the Ipaq for some of our physicians (I work in a small hospital). Guess which ones the physicians are already evaluating!

GratefulE

I'm still waiting on a Feb 14th ship date....ordered Jan 15th....I'm about ready to drive to the nearest wharehouse and pick out an Axim to call my own. The long post above does help explain why It's been more than a month, but it's still a long time to wait!

JakeRich

Yes, I have mine. It came a week earlier than Dell promised, but later than folks who ordered after me, so it wasn't "fair" for me, either.

My purpose in the long post is not to defend Dell's model, but just to put it in some perspective. I've seem a lot of posts about "it's not fair" that someone orders late and gets it in less than a week when someone else is still waiting. It's not fair, but Dell's service model is not fair, it's efficient. And since we want cheap Axims, the way to keep them cheap is to do what Dell is doing.

If they lose a sale because their model doesn't work, then it doesn't work. They figure they gain more than they lose as long as they can keep the price down. Given the market share that they captured in two months, I'd have to give them credit for more gains than losses at this point. If the small hospital opts for Ipaq because they could play with them sooner instead of the Dell because it costs less for the same functionality, that's a decision they get to make.

I suspect rollout of the X7 and X3 models will be more coordinated, as Dell has also learned something here.

ehobbs

It's not really a matter of fairness. It's just that when you say you will do something then that's what you should do. If you don't know if you can do it, then don't make the committment. Posting a lead time of 9 days (though today they changed it to 15) but then offering a ship date that is 4 weeks later is just bad business. Granted, prior to these Internet forums none of us would have known that some that ordered later are getting their orders filled sooner, but that's life in the 21st century!

FEichinger

Being a harden PALM developer, I decided to branch out and try the Pocket PC enviornment. I decided on the Axim because of price and features.

I then did my research, I read the messsage boards, I read the Dell customer service message board and saw I could be waiting weeks for my Axim.

I decided to go ahead, I ordered it and received it 2 weeks sooner then the proposed shipping date.

The moral of the story is always buyer beware, do you homework and know what your getting into so that your expectations aren't shattered.

Is Dell to blame, yes and no.

I blame marketing and sales for posting everywhere that the Axim is available now.

But by the same token anyone could find out what others are experiencing by even looking around the Dell site itself.

ehobbs

Agreed. If I had listened to Dell users rather than Dell I would have had a better idea if what to expect. Lesson learned!

BruceP

Fairness vs efficiency?

My presence on this forum has been driven not by the delay it self; I've not questioned the efficiency of assembly and delivery.
My comments here, and yes there are far too many of them, have been written with the NOTION THAT DELL IS LISTENING.

My objective has been to tell them THEY ARE SQUANDERING A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD SENTIMENT with their aggravating "Order Status site" which has changed the ship date of my unit nearly 15 times in daily increments.

I understand logistical optimization but, even in a world ruled by linear programming distribution models certain constraints are possible, needed and appropriate. I would think some maximum delay would be one that even their marketing model could incorporate.

JakeRich

BruceP I think you have hit on the key. Dell has squandered, to some extent, it's customer good will on Axim. But I really do think they did not anticipate the demand for the device. And they probably didn't consider that the Axim user world would share order/delivery dates so freely. That's the lesson I think they will take away for the X7/X3 releases. I also have noted that their tone on the forums at Dell.com has changed. Originally Dell-Rollie was a bit brusque with answers and basically parroted the party line. Now he's more interactive, and has demonstrated initiative in getting answers for people. Again, it's new to Dell, so they do have lessons to learn.

I would also say to any Dell staff reading in this forum that I agree with BruceP that at some point in a fulfillment process the clock should overpower the regionality of delivery. If you have product in a warehouse and customers unfilfilled, even if shipping is more expensive to get to those customers, you need to keep that good will and ship. It'll cost more in shipping, but keeping that customer happy will bring them back again.

slip

Mine took a while to get here too. I ordered it on Jan 23, and recieved it a few days ago. The 23rd was actually a couple of days after the rebate ended. I figured I would go ahead and order anyways. I called Dell customer service when it arrived and asked if I would get the rebate. The gal on the phone said that I would not, so I told here I wanted to return the Axim. She asked if I would keep it if I got the rebate, and I told her I would. She had me wait a few minutes, and when she returned, she told me that my account would be credited.:D So I don't have to wait for a rebate. IMHO, Dell is alright with me. I do like my Axim, I just wish it had a flip cover like my trusty old Palm IIIe did.

PS: I see they are offering the rebate again.

__________________
Slip Mahoney

delradie

I get the feeling also that the problems aren't entirely down to Dell, but do partly stem from their suppliers also being surprised by the demand.

I phoned dell yesterady to get an update on the status and was told that the part holding up my delivery was an internal one. What exactly is meant by that I do not know but it's interesting to note.

Oh, well I'll just have to site tight. Ordered mine on the 3rd, and my updated, accurate(?) delivery date is the 7th

__________________
Mark

-----------------------------------------
By caffeine alone I set my mind in motion
The buzz becomes a shaking
The shakes become a warning
By caffeine alone I set my mind in motion

BruceP

When I placed my order (1/15/03) the estimated ship date was Feb4.
(1) When confirmation was sent the next day the ship date was changed to Feb10 and it stayed there for a few weeks; then
(2) on Feb5 ship date was changed to Feb14
(3) on Feb9 ship date was changed to Feb17
(4) on Feb11 ship date was changed to Feb18
(5) on Feb12 ship date was changed to Feb19
(6) on Feb13 ship date was changed to Feb20
(7) on Feb14 ship date was changed to Feb21
(8) on Feb17 ship date was changed to Feb24
(9) on Feb18 ship date was changed to Feb25
(10) on Feb19 ship date was changed to Feb26
(11) on Feb20 ship date was changed to Feb27
(12) on Feb21 ship date was changed to Feb28

Changed at least twelve times, recently pushed out one day at a time. The Dell campus rep I got ahold of told me that this date was just being pushed out by the calendar (automatically), not anything that was going on with delivery or production, no actual person involved. This adjustment is, I suppose, just to keep me off their back. What I've tried to convey to them is that it just P$sses me off. The rep told me on the 18th, the est ship date from "manufacturing" was the 24th. "Slip" story is both encouraging and frustrating. If no word by Monday I think I'm bailing out. My wife says 4 computers in the house is enough!

BruceP

I'm tossing in the towel.
This morning (2/24) the Dell site still listed my order (from Jan15) checked through "pre-production" just like it showed the day after I ordered it. The est shipping date is now bumped to Mar3 ....

I don't need the aggravation. Everyone, enjoy the technology...