Intrepid's 44-Day Average Order-To-Delivery Time

Chart 1.

Typical Timeline for the Vehicle Order-to-Delivery Process for a Fleet Car

STEP PROCESS	INCREMENTAL	CUMULATIVE	NOTES
1. Order received and reviewed by fleet management company or dealer.	1-2 days	1-2 days	Order logged upon receipt for tracking purposes.
2. Transmit order to manufacturer.	1 day	2-3 days	Fleets are still able to make changes to order with the manufacturer.
3. Order acknowledgment by factory.	1-2 days	3-5 days	Order double-checked for accuracy; acknowledgment sent to fleet customer.
4. Scheduled for production.	14-21 days	17-26 days	No more changes can be made with manufacturer after scheduling.
5. Vehicle produced and released	14-28 days for shipment.	31-54 days	Factory invoice sent; delivery papers prepared and mailed.
6. Vehicle shipped to dealer.	10-15 days	41-69 days	Delivery location changes must be handled with the driveaway company.
7. Dealer prep for delivery.	1-3 days	42-72 days	Dealer inspects vehicle prior to handing keys to the driver.
8. Delivery to driver.	2-5 days	44-77 days	Total process can take from 6 to 11 weeks with 8 weeks the norm.

This OTD compares to a 51-day average for the Ford Taurus and a 75-day average for the Chevrolet Lumina.

“DaimlerChrysler is building vehicles very quickly and going to preference very quickly,” said Gary Taylor, vice president of purchasing for US Fleet Leasing in Carrollton, TX.

This is illustrated in Charts 2-7, which reveal DaimlerChrysler models capturing the No. 1 spot in shortest order-to-delivery times for every vehicle segment based on data collected from the nation’s largest fleet management companies. The survey tracked 1999-model deliveries for 61 models up to June 15, 1999.

With this issue, Automotive Fleet is inaugurating a new annual survey to benchmark order-to-delivery times for popular commercial fleet vehicles. The vehicles selected for benchmarking are those that had a minimum of 1,000 units registered to commercial fleet customers; however, some exceptions were made to this methodology, such as all-new models introduced this model-year. Because of a limited number of pages that could be devoted to this survey, AF decided not to segregate models by trim level, series type, or engine and transmission configurations. For the purposes of this survey, car OTD is calculated from the day an order is placed with a factory to when the vehicle is delivered to a dealer (not driver pick up). Truck OTD is calculated from order placement to delivery to an upfitter or, if no upfitting is required, to a dealer. The time spent at an upfitter is not included in truck OTD times.

The fleet management companies participating in the survey were GE Capital Fleet Services, PHH Vehicle Management Services, US Fleet Leasing, Lease Plan, Donlen, and ARI.

When examining the order-to-delivery times, it should be pointed out that these are averages and vehicle delivery times can vary depending on how a model is equipped and the time of year it is ordered, said Linda Tiberi, motor company specialist for PHH Vehicle Management Services. One fleet management company purchasing manager, who requested anonymity, agreed with this observation by adding, “tracking delivery times is not a perfect science.” For instance, one variable in OTD can occur because of component constraints. “A company may be able to build a pickup in a certain number of days, but if a critical component is not available, lead-times will lengthen.” Or, as one manufacturer pointed out, although a fleet vehicle may be recorded in the factory system as being delivered to a dealer, it may sit there several days awaiting late paperwork from a fleet management company, which would artificially lengthen its OTD.

There is No Magic Bullet

 

Due to the complexity of the order-to-delivery process, there is no magic bullet that manufacturers can employ to shorten their delivery times. Rather, manufacturers are adopting a multitude of changes to shave a day here and shave a day there. These efforts are paying off. According to fleet buyers, order-to-delivery times are improving despite the well-publicized rail transit snafus, the problems encountered by GM in launching its VOMS ordering system, DaimlerChrysler’s slow launch of last year’s LH models, and the engine and component constraints that have delayed some high-volume Ford products.

In the past five years, OTD has improved dramatically. Back then, the standard response for average fleet delivery time was 10 to 12 weeks. Today, some vehicles can be delivered as quickly as four weeks. On the flip side, however, there are still instances where it may take as long as 17 weeks to receive some full-size trucks as a result of their high retail demand and short supply.

One consequence to manufacturers shortening their lead-time is that the window to make changes to an order has likewise been shortened. “Five years ago, if you ordered a vehicle you could change an option or its color a month into the process,” said one purchasing manager. “Today, once an order is in the hands of a manufacturer for a week, you are locked in. You don’t have the same latitude as you did in the past in making changes.”

Average Delivery Times by Car Segment

1999-Model Year (to June 15, 1999)

Intermediate-Sized Cars
Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
1. Dodge Intrepid	44 Days
2. Ford Taurus	51 Days
3. Mercury Sable	56 Days
4. Buick Regal	64 Days
5. Buick Century	65 Days
6. Oldsmobile Intrigue	70 Days
7. Pontiac Grand Prix	73 Days
8. Chevrolet Lumina	75 Days
Compact Cars
1. Chrysler Cirrus	44 Days
1. Plymouth Breeze	44 Days
2. Dodge Stratus	51 Days
3. Chevrolet Malibu	61 Days
4. Ford Contour<	63 Days
5. Oldsmobile Cutlass	66 Days
6. Pontiac Grand Am	77 Days
Subcompact Cars
1. Dodge Neon	53 Days
2. Pontiac Sunfire	65 Days
3. Chevrolet Cavalier	68 Days
4. Ford Escort	81 Days
Full-Size Cars
1. Chrysler Concorde	43 Days
2. Ford Crown Victoria	54 Days
3. Pontiac Bonneville	60 Days
4. Buick LeSabre	65 Days
5. Oldsmobile Eighty Eight	79 Days
Executive Cars
1. Chrysler 300M	33 Days
1. Chrysler LHS	33 Days
2. Lincoln Continental	58 Days
3. Oldsmobile Aurora	59 Days
4. Cadillac DeVille	63 Days
4. Mercury Grand Marquis	63 Days
5. Buick Park Avenue	65 Days
6. Lincoln Town Car	68 Days

Nine Ways to Speed Up Delivery

Fleet managers often feel they are at the mercy of factory production schedules and that new-model delivery times are beyond their control. In the same vein, fleet managers sometimes bring on delivery delays themselves based on their ordering practices. Here are some things you can do to avoid this.

1. Order Early in the Model-Year. Order-to-delivery times are time-sensitive, with orders placed earlier in the model-year arriving faster than those placed later in the year. “By ordering early, you avoid running into constraints such as what happens later in the model-year when motor companies begin to run short on certain engines or get into other short supply situations,” said Tiberi. The ideal time to place orders, she said, is July and August.

“Fleets can speed up vehicle delivery by ordering in advance of peak retail demand for similar models,” agrees Mike Wirt, senior vice president of vehicle operations and services for Lease Plan. Wirt recommends placing orders in August or during the first week of September. “The better-managed fleets review fleet information as early as possible and start placing orders in the middle of August to the end of the first week of September,” said Wirt. After the first week of September is when franchised dealers begin stocking their lots with new product. “If you can get your order in before that surge, then you will tend to get earlier production allocation.”

If your company has a spring order cycle, it is best to place orders between Thanksgiving and Christmas, added Wirt. Many companies tend to start the planning process for spring orders the first of January after budgets have been finalized. “When you do this, you’re placing your orders at the end of February, or the beginning of March, which coincides with the dealer body’s bulge of orders to stock their inventory for spring,” said Wirt.

Additional benefits to ordering early include obtaining higher resale values for replaced vehicles since they are being taken out of service before prices in the used-vehicle market drop and the ability to take advantage of early-order incentives offered by manufacturers, said Rick Shick, vice president of purchasing for Donlen Corp.

Also, it is a good idea to contact your factory representative or fleet management company in advance if you are planning a sizable order of one type of vehicle. “This way we can work with the motor company and reserve that allocation,” said Tiberi.

If a fleet knows when it wants to take delivery of its vehicles during the course of the year, it should consider ordering them early and should indicate the desired future delivery dates on the orders, added Shick. This gives the fleet management company an opportunity to correct any potential problems in advance and to release orders early enough to compensate for constraints or longer lead times.

2. Select High-Volume Models for Your Selector. Traditionally, the first allocation of new models built is sold retail units. The second allocation of product is for retail inventory, and the third is fleet. “This is pretty much the way the allocation process has been,” said Wirt. “If you’re ordering a high-volume product that is in moderate retail demand, then it doesn’t matter when you order. But if you are ordering a Suburban in the spring, then you probably have little or no opportunity of getting a spring-built, fleet-allocated Suburban. ”

According to Wirt, a fleet can trim seven days to two weeks off delivery time when ordering a high-volume fleet sedan. “If you select standard products that have high volume, you are going to reduce your delivery time considerably,” said Wirt. “If you want to improve your delivery times, stick to core, high-volume products.”

3. Don’t Wait for Pricing and Incentives to be Finalized Before Ordering. Historically, manufacturers introduce next model-year pricing sometime in July. However, waiting for pricing sometimes delays the selector development process, said Taylor. “In most cases, fleet managers can figure out the future cost of a vehicle by using an average percentage increase,” he said. “Waiting for pricing delays ordering, which ultimately delays the delivery of a vehicle.” Fleet management companies and factory fleet representatives are good sources of information regarding upcoming new-model price increases.

“It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to price protect order placement made prior to new-model price announcements,” added Shick.

4. Pre-Order Consulting. “I can’t stress enough the importance of fleet managers taking advantage of pre-order consulting services provided by their fleet management company,” said Christine Lando, vehicle operations supervisor for PHH Vehicle Management Services. “Doing this eliminates orders being rejected because of incompatibility with motor company specs. This improves turnaround time on orders.”

5. If Upfitting is Required, Consider Using Factory Pool Units. Upfitting can add anywhere from two to eight weeks to the lead-time of a truck or van, in addition to its normal production time.

“With many trucks, you are looking at eight to10 weeks production time and when you add upfitting on top of it, it can sometimes, in extreme situations, add as much as an additional eight weeks,” said Lando.

Taylor agrees. “You need to factor in upfitting time for a truck when calculating order-to-delivery.” Historically, it takes, on average, two weeks to get a vehicle processed at an upfitter. “However, it’s not unheard of for upfitters to be anywhere from three to four weeks behind at any given time depending on their volume of business,” said Taylor.

One way to shorten upfitting lead-time is to use manufacturer pool units. These are chassis that a manufacturer has already built and which it keeps in inventory for fleets seeking quicker turnaround time in getting product to an upfitter. “Unless you have a very unusual chassis specification, you can accelerate delivery by using a pool,” said Taylor. “You can chop off the production time because the chassis is sitting there ready to go.”

Average Delivery Times to Dealer or Upfitter for Pickup Trucks 1999-Model Year (to June 15, 1999)
Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
1. Dodge Dakota	55 Days
2. Dodge Ram	57 Days
3. Ford Ranger	71 Days
4. Chevrolet S10	77 Days
5. Ford F-Series	81 Days
6. GMC Sierra	86 Days
7. Chevrolet Silverado	106 Days
Average Delivery Times to Dealer or Upfitter for Vans 1999-Model Year (to June 15, 1999)
Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
1. Dodge Caravan	48 Days
2. Plymouth Voyager	53 Days
3. Chevrolet Venture	69 Days
4. Ford Econoline	71 Days
5. Ford Windstar 1	75 Days
6. GMC Safari	77 Days
7. Chevrolet Astro	88 Days
8. GMC Savana	89 Days
9. Chevrolet Express	98 Days
1 Windstar order-to-delivery time includes both cargo and passenger van deliveries.
Average Delivery Times to Dealer for Sport/Utility Vehicles 1999-Model Year (to June 15, 1999)
Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
1. Jeep Grand Cherokee	44 Days
2. Jeep Cherokee	45 Days
3. Dodge Durango	46 Days
4. Jeep Wrangler SE	55 Days
5. Ford Expedition	63 Days
6. Ford Explorer	71 Days
7. Lincoln Navigator	79 Days
8. GMC Jimmy	89 Days
9. GMC Yukon	91 Days
10. Chevrolet Tahoe	95 Days
11. GMC Suburban	96 Days
12. Chevrolet S Blazer	98 Days
13. Chevrolet Suburban	99 Days

6. Consider Using Manufacturer Upfit Packages Rather Than Customized Packages. Manufacturers, such as GM and Ford, offer standardized upfit packages for specific models. “There are very straightforward packages, which are suitable for some end users. By selecting this type of package, you will see your vehicles upfitted more quickly,” said Taylor. “For instance, by simply standardizing the type of work bin package used, the order-to-delivery time can be substantially reduced.”

7. Stay Abreast of Component Constraints. Equipment constraints can delay production and it is crucial that fleet managers make an effort to stay abreast of these announcements. “There is a lot of information available to fleets from their fleet management company or the manufacturer,” said Todd Schreiber, vice president of communications and marketing for USFL. “It is important to monitor this data and to be willing to make adjustments to your ordering. This is especially applicable to the truck market. By being willing to make adjustments to your specifications during the course of a year, a fleet can reduce its average order-to-delivery time,” said Schreiber.

For instance, at a recent GM fleet conference, it was noted that because of Allison’s long-term capacity constraints, ordering a medium-duty truck equipped with an Allison transmission could take six months or longer. Simply specifying a different transmission can eliminate a six-month delay.

8. Limit Driver-Paid Options. A driver-paid option program is a great morale booster, but if it isn’t properly structured, these additional option purchases can possibly delay vehicle deliveries. Wirt recommends limiting the options available for driver purchases to only those that are consistent with the models on your selector.

9. Order Vehicles Online When Given a Choice. Fleets that use online vehicle ordering systems developed by their fleet management companies or fleet dealers report that the process shaves five to 10 days off of delivery times.

Fastest to Slowest Delivery Times for Cars or Trucks

1999-Model Year (to June 15, 1999)

Chart 6.

Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
Chrysler 300M	33 Days
Chrysler LHS	33 Days
Chrysler Concorde	43 Days
Chrysler Cirrus	44 Days
Dodge Intrepid	44 Days
Plymouth Breeze	44 Days
Dodge Stratus	51 Days
Ford Taurus	51 Days
Dodge Neon	53 Days
Ford Crown Victoria	54 Days
Mercury Sable	56 Days
Lincoln Continental	58 Days
Oldsmobile Aurora	59 Days
Pontiac Bonneville	60 Days
Chevrolet Malibu	61 Days
Cadillac DeVille	63 Days
Ford Contour	63 Days
Mercury Grand Marquis	63 Days
Buick Regal	64 Days
Buick Century	65 Days
Buick LeSabre	65 Days
Buick Park Avenue	65 Days
Pontiac Sunfire	65 Days
Oldsmobile Cutlass	66 Days
Chevrolet Cavalier	68 Days
Lincoln Town Car	68 Days
Oldsmobile Intrigue	70 Days
Pontiac Grand Prix	73 Days
Chevrolet Lumina	75 Days
Pontiac Grand Am	77 Days
Oldsmobile Eighty Eight	79 Days
Ford Escort	81 Days
Chart 7.
Make/Model	Average Delivery Time
Jeep Grand Cherokee	44 Days
Jeep Cherokee	45 Days
Dodge Durango	46 Days
Dodge Caravan	48 Days
Plymouth Voyager	53 Days
Jeep Wrangler SE	55 Days
Dodge Dakota	55 Days
Dodge Ram	57 Days
Ford Expedition	63 Days
Chevrolet Venture	69 Days
Ford Econoline	71 Days
Ford Explorer	71 Days
Ford Ranger	71 Days
Ford Windstar	75 Days
Chevrolet S10	77 Days
GMC Safari	77 Days
Lincoln Navigator	79 Days
Ford F-Series	81 Days
GMC Sierra	86 Days
Chevrolet Astro	88 Days
GMC Jimmy	89 Days
GMC Savana	89 Days
GMC Yukon	91 Days
Chevrolet Tahoe	95 Days
GMC Suburban	96 Days
Chevrolet Express	98 Days
Chevrolet S Blazer	98 Days
Chevrolet Suburban	99 Days
Chevrolet Silverado	106 Days

Manufacturers’ Initiatives to Improve Order-to-Delivery

For the past several years, improving order-to-delivery time for commercial fleet vehicles has become a key issue at factory fleet departments. DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors all have significant corporate-wide initiatives underway to shorten their order-to-delivery times for both retail and fleet orders.

One recent initiative has been implemented by GM, which created a 19-person fleet customer support team, whose primary goal is to shorten the company’s order-to-delivery times. In addition, the group’s other purpose is to improve communication with its largest fleet customers by providing a single point of contact. The fleet customer support team also will be responsible for fleet allocation and scheduling, fleet product forecasting, and fleet market analysis.

“Improving order-to-delivery is our No. 1 priority,” said Dave Hansen, general manager of GM Fleet & Commercial Operations. Despite a stumbling start, Hansen said the VOMS vehicle ordering system will improve OTD. VOMS is essentially a database management system that can also function as a forecasting pool for GM to streamline its vehicle production schedule and to offer early marketing data on what fleet customers are ordering. Using VOMS, each fleet customer has the ability to request a desired production week. Another benefit to fleets is that VOMS lets a customer immediately know whether a submitted vehicle order is buildable or not and not have to wait till the following day. To be incorporated into VOMS is GM’s Transportation Management System, which will allow fleet managers to go online at any time to track vehicle status.

“GM is also in the process of developing a reserved allocation system to improve order-to-delivery performance for specific models and large fleet customers,” said Hansen.

DaimlerChrysler has been focusing on improving its order-to-delivery process for the past three years. “This has been a company-wide effort, not just fleet,” said Bob Hallyburton, senior manager, customer service for DaimlerChrysler Fleet Operations.

According to Del Flager, development specialist for DaimlerChrysler, “We broke down the ordering process into a number of different legs looking for bottlenecks.” As a result of this analysis, a number of different initiatives were implemented. Some of these were:

• Centralized traffic points, such as in the state of Florida, were created. By centralizing railheads, the transit time from the factory to dealer was decreased. “It used to take two weeks to get a vehicle off the rail; now we’re down to days,” said Hallyburton.
• Dealers have extended their hours to accept new-vehicle deliveries from car-hauling companies.
• A sticker was developed that is affixed to a vehicle while in transit identifying it at a glance as a sold unit. “Sold units are moved a little bit faster because you have a customer, which improves order-to-delivery,” said Flager.

According to Hallyburton, one critical change adopted by DaimlerChrysler to improve order-to-delivery was to have a representative from Fleet Operations on each of the vehicle platform teams, which provides early notification of constraint problems, which can then be communicated to fleet customers.

DaimlerChrysler also employs a Fleet Forecasting Computer System to optimize its production scheduling and allocation. “The system, which took three years to develop, provides an accurate view of what orders have come in, what phase of production they are in, and a forecast of our future needs,” said Hallyburton. “The system does this by looking at historical trends, analyzing the best information we have from the field, and then projects the exact periods we will need product for building in the scheduling cycle. It is probably the most crucial piece in our hitting good production dates.”

DaimlerChrysler is also laying the foundation for future Internet-based vehicle ordering. Recently, the company consolidated all of its Internet development work with a single supplier. “We’re contracting out the complete revamp of our Web application and there will definitely be a fleet component, which will be built into it from ground zero,” added Hallyburton.

Ford, likewise, has made a major commitment to improving its order-to-delivery times. As part of a multi-prong initiative, Ford is seeking to improve its ETA (estimated time of arrival) for its fleet and retail vehicles. Currently, Ford is building 90 percent of its cars on the exact date it said it would build them. This compares to 1998, when only 60 percent of the vehicles were being built in the week they were scheduled.

Another initiative designed to provide better production planning and scheduling would involve Ford surveying its major fleet customers to obtain a rolling forecast of their future vehicle orders. This will not be the first time that Ford has surveyed fleet customers on their ordering intentions; however, this new initiative will be the start of a more formalized, ongoing process. In the past, Ford relied on its field force to talk with fleet customers on their upcoming vehicle needs and communicate this information back to the home office.

“With this new initiative, what we are trying to do is to go straight to the source,” said Clay Pepper, project manager for Ford’s North American Sales Planning and Distribution Development Department.

Also, Ford has been asking its dealers for the past two years to provide a sales forecast. “We have been using the dealer forecasts and Fleet Operations’ internal forecasts to adjust our production,” said Mike Reisinger, manager of North American Sales Planning and Distribution Department.

Ford Fleet Operations is also developing a Web-based tool to assist companies with vehicle ordering. It foresees the Web-based tool initially functioning as a forecasting system that is accessed by fleet customers using their Fleet Identification Number.