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Author Topic: Availability of DS spare parts  (Read 5959 times)

Offline basilsdad

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Availability of DS spare parts
« on: November 18, 2011, 16:49:20 »
Lately I have been enjoying looking at all the building instructions at the Playmobil website.  It was an answer to a prayer for some of the older sets without instructons.  :thanks: 
I would love to see DS have such a site to look up the availability of spare parts.  It would be great to be able to just plug in a part number and find out if it is in stock, out of stock or discontinued.  It would save a lot of time for everyone involved.  Just a thought. 
Joe
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Offline playmogal

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2011, 16:56:57 »
Joe,
you are singing to the choir here...we all badly want access to such a database.
Thanks for posting this, Pgal :wave:
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Offline Bill Blackhurst

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2011, 17:51:29 »
I totally agree Joe! I got a DS order from USA DS the other day, & it really made me mad! I submitted the order because of size by email to the customer service dept. After 3 days I had to call to make sure they received it because I didn't hear from them. They confirmed they had the order, but were extremely busy, & they would work on it when time permitted. One & one half weeks later I got a confirmation email showing what was available & the costs involved. They just omitted the numbers they didn't have without explanation if it was B.O., discontinued, or temporarily out of stock. After going over what was not showing on the confirmation order, I called the next day & gave my credit card number & the amount showed up on my bank statement for 4 days & then disappeared. 3 weeks later an amount considerably less, showed up on my bank account & the order arrived a day later. After checking the order, there were an additional 8 items that were in the "Please reorder" column of my packing list! I was a car dealership parts manager for several years, & my experience regarding the basics of inventory control is quite extensive. If a packing list from Playmobil Germany has lets' say 5,000 items, & the person checking the actual items vs. what is on the packing slip matches, the next step is putting the items on the shelves, & posting the verified paperwork into the computers inventory. For example, if you show 5 on the shelf of an item & it is correct to start out with, & you receive 20 more & the quantity matches the packing slip, you should have 25 total & as the item sells, the amount decreases automatically as sales progress. With the inventory shortages, constantly happening, I would be on top of the parts dept. personnel responsible for inventory control to find out if posting errors, check in errors, or theft problems were the reasons behind the constant differences in inventory! I mean really, inventory is money! Playmobil USA had to pay Playmobil Germany for the items on the packing slip, why would they not be concerned where what they paid for was going, based on what the computer was saying?
« Last Edit: November 18, 2011, 18:52:38 by Bill Blackhurst »
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Offline bonniebeth

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2011, 18:36:37 »
BB, maybe they should hire you to be manager over a new and improved parts department. :love: Sounds like you would know what you were doing, unlike whoever is running it now, obviously.
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Offline basilsdad

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2011, 18:52:52 »
Quote from: bonniebeth on November 18, 2011, 18:36:37
BB, maybe they should hire you to be manager over a new and improved parts department. :love: Sounds like you would know what you were doing, unlike whoever is running it now, obviously.
Bill, can I apply to be your assistant?  :lol:
Joe
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Offline tomegood87

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2011, 21:01:17 »
Over the summer I tried ordering any and all types of train buffers.  They replied that the items had been discontinued.  Last month I made a similar order with train buffers.  My confirmation order showed them having lots of train buffers. Some items were also removed from my confirmation order. 

 

Of course this didn't mean I would get everything on my order.  Like Bill said I didn't get charged for my order for a few weeks.  They told me they only charge once the order has shipped.  I'm surprised I got all that was on my Order.  I completely agree with Bill they need a better system.  Saying an Item is discontinued and then it turns out not to be. 
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Offline Bill Blackhurst

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2011, 21:25:33 »
Quote from: basilsdad on November 18, 2011, 18:52:52
Bill, can I apply to be your assistant?  :Lil:
Joe

For me to be a Playmobil parts department manager, would be like the fox guarding the hen house I'm afraid :-[! But if I ever get that job offer, I will gladly bring you on the parts department staff, Joe! Enthusiasm is an important quality for employee's to have! ;)
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Offline basilsdad

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2011, 22:20:04 »
Quote from: Bill Blackhurst on November 18, 2011, 21:25:33
Enthusiasm is an important quality for employee's to have! ;)
And deep pockets  :hmm:  (meaning a big spending allowance) as I would have to buy everything in sight!
 :lol:
Joe
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Offline Tiermann

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2011, 22:29:08 »
This has been the case with US DS for a long time. I've never had an order where some items weren't outed on the final invoice. Clearly their computer inventory and what's on the shelf don't match up. I think at least part of the problem is that the database isn't specific enough. Ideally it should be pictorial when they are going to pick the order. There's no way the staffer can know what each part looks like and if something's gotten mixed up or out of place they have no idea that it's the wrong item. When their pick sheet just says figure 5 times in a row without any descriptive info, or has the description only in German, then how will they know they have the right one? In a way it's kind of amazing they do as well as they do.

So I agree there's a problem, but I think it's systems based as much as it may be human error.

At some point they need to have smartphones for the pickers with access to the images of each item on a given pick list.
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Offline playmogal

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Re: Availability of DS spare parts
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2011, 22:47:00 »
It is a miracle that we get anything we order with a system like US DS. You never know what will be in that box when it finally arrives, and I have never figured out the credit card part of the order. Why do they charge you once and then erase that one and charge you the "correct amount" the second go round before they ship?

I can never figure out whether I am coming or going as to what is in the box and what is on my credit card. And I should be able to make sense of this with a PHD in logistics and marketing and 20 years of teaching business in universities.

So I fully support BB's candidacy to manage US DS!!! Just make sure there are security cameras on every square centimeter of the warehouse so that the parts don't develop legs and suddenly walk off! Hehehehe, Pgal :wave:
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