Pre-order Product Status Update

Understandably, "Where are my P40 switches?!" is a question that we are being asked more often this month. There have been delays, but rest assured progress is being rapidly made. Although we are not able to give a firm commitment on delivery date, we can share with you the progress to date, some of the challenges we have encountered and what our best estimate for delivery and fulfilment will be.

Challenges

As you know, this past summer has been one of record breaking temperatures, wild fires, and severe weather. Sadly, we have not been immune to these events, specifically, our manufacturing partners in Shanghai China have seen catastrophic weather. In fact, a batch of P40 switches was nearly lost to flooding; however, we were lucky to avoid the worst with only a few damp boxes. Mother nature made another attempt on our production pipeline; this time in Hong Kong, where all of the final assembly, test, and packaging of the P40 switches is performed. Record flooding and widespread damage was recorded all over the territory. Despite this setback, production continues.

 

Progress

Although our production and delivery progress is not where we would have hoped, we can report a great deal of progress on many items. In addition to the P40 switches, we also introduced a new curve track product (R64P) and two new straight tracks (S1.6 and S3.2). When put into perspective, it is no small achievement to put 5x new products into production at the same time, including two of the most complicated products we have made (P40R and P40L switches).

  • 8864 (R64P): Production, inspection and retail packaging completed. Freight packed for distribution to Canada and Germany.
  • 8800 (S1.6 & S3.2): Production and inspection completed. Retail packaging nearly completed.

R64P final inspection and packaging / Completed R64P production ready for shipment

P40 Switches:

  • 50x retail sets completed for retail distribution.
  • All components for 900x pairs now in Hong Kong with steady progress being made on final assembly, test, and packaging. New automated testing jigs have been developed to assist with assembly and ensure 100% quality control testing coverage

P40 switches production, assembly and test / S1.6 & S3.2 final inspection and packaging

Plan

Given the current status of production, we are much more confident that rapid progress will be made--especially since we have all of the many 1000s of component items "in house" for final assembly. Here is the current plan for fulfillment of pre-order tracks:

  1. Pre-orders to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Rim region will start this week (week of Sep 25) since this region is serviced directly from our Hong Kong operation.
  2. Shipment of completed R64P inventory will be sent to Canada and Germany via air freight with sufficient quantity for pre-order commitments and surplus.
  3. When retail packaging of the S1.6 and S3.2 products is completed (estimated by Oct 1) they also will be air shipped with pre-order + surplus quantities.
  4. As completed quantities of P40 boxes are made, they will be packed into carton sized-lots (around 45-50x SKUs) and immediately shipped via DHL air to Canada and Germany. 
  5. Air shipment is usually 2-3x days door-to-door to our Canadian operation and to JB Spielwaren.
  6. Once a steady tempo of product production and carton-lot shipments is achieved, we should be able to make good progress against our pre-order backlog.

Despite the big difference in cost between air vs. sea freight to distribute our products to Canada and Germany for final fulfillment, we feel it is the least we can do to reward your patience and deliver your pre-orders as soon as possible.

Once again, many thanks to all of our supportive and generous customers--we appreciate your patience and understanding.

 

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