BRP Should Pre-Position Replacement Parts

[Littlebadwolf]

I've read all the complaints about parts being back ordered due to the customs and it comes to mind that a company as big as Can-Am should pre-position replacment parts at as location in the US. Wisconsin comes to mind because that seems to be BRP country. This would alleviate all the problems with lengthy back ordering and do wonders for thier reputation. They seem to spare no expense when it comes to promoting the Spyder on tv, etc and it seems to me that all the promoting goes down the tubes when a prospective customer reads all the complaints and decides not to order one of thier products.

[Star Cruiser]

I've read all the complaints about parts being back ordered due to the customs and it comes to mind that a company as big as Can-Am should pre-position replacment parts at as location in the US. Wisconsin comes to mind because that seems to be BRP country. This would alleviate all the problems with lengthy back ordering and do wonders for thier reputation. They seem to spare no expense when it comes to promoting the Spyder on tv, etc and it seems to me that all the promoting goes down the tubes when a prospective customer reads all the complaints and decides not to order one of thier products.

I am not sure that it is only for "Out of Country" orders Little Bad. I ordered a tire a week ago and it was on backorder. It came in yesterday so I am having it put on tomorrow at the Dealers. ~$185 figure that is't too bad a price to pay after 43,000km. Te rear tire on my V-Star 1100 was $240 for an Avon and was only good for about 20,000km

[M2Wild]

$185 installed isn't bad. Figure the tire costs about $120 plus shipping and about an hour of labor.

[pjp623]

That would just be too logical. Funny thing is parts for the rest of the recreational line are readily available. :dontknow:

[Firefly]

43,000 km (26,000 miles) off a rear tire is amazing.

My first rear tire lasted 8,000, second one 12,000--- putting my 3rd on today.

Dealer charged $200 to swap the rear tire last time-- NOT including the cost of the tire!

Highway robbery.

Doing it myself this time.

As far as parts go-- yes--- they need to do something.

[mxz600]

43,000 km (26,000 miles) off a rear tire is amazing.

My first rear tire lasted 8,000, second one 12,000--- putting my 3rd on today.

Dealer charged $200 to swap the rear tire last time-- NOT including the cost of the tire!

Highway robbery.

Doing it myself this time.

As far as parts go-- yes--- they need to do something.

12,000 miles. Not bad for a
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mxz600/Someguy/DSC01124_3.jpg

[WackyDan]

I've read all the complaints about parts being back ordered due to the customs and it comes to mind that a company as big as Can-Am should pre-position replacment parts at as location in the US. Wisconsin comes to mind because that seems to be BRP country. This would alleviate all the problems with lengthy back ordering and do wonders for thier reputation. They seem to spare no expense when it comes to promoting the Spyder on tv, etc and it seems to me that all the promoting goes down the tubes when a prospective customer reads all the complaints and decides not to order one of thier products.

BRP has a warehouse in Atlanta.... Though the dealer says they use it primarily for their ATV's and other products. Not sure that location is accurate or not.

[NancysToy]

BRP has a warehouse in Atlanta.... Though the dealer says they use it primarily for their ATV's and other products. Not sure that location is accurate or not.
That is correct. Carlo says the computer determines what parts are stored where, and where they are shipped from, though. A dealer can't just order from the Atlanta warehouse.

[BajaRon]

That is correct. Carlo says the computer determines what parts are stored where, and where they are shipped from, though. A dealer can't just order from the Atlanta warehouse.

If this is true, then connect a laptop to the BUDS and change what gets stored where! Like all the parts that are taking so long to get from Canada! (Lamont...We need a 'DUH' Emoticon).

Is this too simplistic or am I missing something? :dontknow:

[WackyDan]

If this is true, then connect a laptop to the BUDS and change what gets stored where! Like all the parts that are taking so long to get from Canada! (Lamont...We need a 'DUH' Emoticon).

Is this too simplistic or am I missing something? :dontknow:

At Lenovo(IBM) we had the same issues. We'd make a million or so of one laptop model, and a few months later find pockets of failure from one customer to the next. Before an issue is determined to be "pervasive" it would start a natural run on service parts. The parts depots that IBM had in the US for Lenovo were run practically dry on that specific part or motherboard, and what once was a managed parts inventory turns into a nightmare as we started to look at our Canada depots and Europe for reserve. A "next day" warranty becomes next week. Granted, that is for a commodity like a computer, where as Spyders are not a commodity item.

What then makes the situation worse (but ultimately better) is engineering issues a stop on all depot part shipments as they do not want what are essentially the same flawed parts going back into a failed machine only to cause another customer issue down the road. They collect samples from the field, find the cause, find the fix and implement an engineering change. This is tremendously costly and is somewhat of a minor miracle in undertaking. Not only do they need to do this quickly, but we need to then produce enough parts to not only repair down units with customers, but also ensure we have enough of the new part to manufacturing.

I'm sure BRP functions much the same in relation to how they treat issues as they pop up. Perhaps BRP has faltered on some aspects, or maybe they've done things by the book. Perhaps they've had some pretty terrible luck in finding root causes and getting parts re-engineered and manufactured to new specification. They'll never tell us.

It is only hopeful on our part that they resolve the current issues with back orders and bite the bullet where they need to. They are not going to overstock parts for us as that is costly and further elevates the cost when the stocked parts are also faulty.

I can say after years of working inside and outside of IBM and Lenovo that sometimes, parts shortages are indeed the status quo for the long term and are rarely addressed as a systemic long term problem with the way they operate as a company.

We can only hope that BRP is getting a handle on things and is actually LEARNING or adapting as they go. The thing that should grab you here though is that BRP is not new to this... They've been making snowmobiles and jetskis for eons now... What is so freaking hard about the Spyder? I would suggest that they are probably having the same supply issues on the water craft that they are on the Spyder. Does anyone know?

We already know that they need to focus much more attention on dealer quality and service tech quality... That is a given.

[NancysToy]

My guess is that when the BRP parts system shows "Back Order", that neither of the warehouses have the part in stock. Of course they could only stock that particular part at one warehouse, or the dealer's system might only search the particular warehouse to which he is assigned. In any case, it is mostly the modern "just-in-time" method of obtaining parts that creates these shortages. Manufacturers no longer carry large, costly inventories of parts...even for production. To them, the optimal (and cheapest) scenario is to receive the part from their supplier only long enough ahead to log it in before it is placed onto a production vehicle or mailed to the dealer as a replacement part. This creates delays for the dealers...and for us. If the part is produced in Austria, Vietnam, China, or Mexico, there are both shipping delays and possible customs delays. These delays are repeated when the part is shipped to the dealer. I doubt any manufacturer today would change these competitive economic methods and go back to having a warehouse filled to the brim with a year's worth of parts...but I guess we can dream...and maybe gripe a little. :D

[BajaRon]

My guess is that when the BRP parts system shows "Back Order", that neither of the warehouses have the part in stock. Of course they could only stock that particular part at one warehouse, or the dealer's system might only search the particular warehouse to which he is assigned. In any case, it is mostly the modern "just-in-time" method of obtaining parts that creates these shortages. Manufacturers no longer carry large, costly inventories of parts...even for production. To them, the optimal (and cheapest) scenario is to receive the part from their supplier only long enough ahead to log it in before it is placed onto a production vehicle or mailed to the dealer as a replacement part. This creates delays for the dealers...and for us. If the part is produced in Austria, Vietnam, China, or Mexico, there are both shipping delays and possible customs delays. These delays are repeated when the part is shipped to the dealer. I doubt any manufacturer today would change these competitive economic methods and go back to having a warehouse filled to the brim with a year's worth of parts...but I guess we can dream...and maybe gripe a little. :D

Another cog in the wheel are problematic parts. In other words, you have a DPS unit that has a higer than projected failure rate. How many of them do you want sitting on the shelf?

So, you make changes to this problematic part and you're pretty sure you've got it nailed but it's smart to give it some time to see if it is as reliable as you hope. How many of these do you want sitting on the shelf?

If it turns out you need to make another change to this unit, and the ones sitting on the shelf can't be retrofitted, then you've got a bunch of very expensive junk sitting around.

[Littlebadwolf]

Wacky...gotta agree with what you explained regarding my original post...makes perfect sense to me now...thanx

[ArmyJoe]

What then makes the situation worse (but ultimately better) is engineering issues a stop on all depot part shipments as they do not want what are essentially the same flawed parts going back into a failed machine only to cause another customer issue down the road.

What a concept! My wife's HP laptop has had its motherboard replaced three times (in three years) because of a known problem with Nvidia graphics chips.

[canam9]

:dontknow::ani29: