Monday, August 15, 2016

A Base! A Base! My Kingdom For a Base!

My Kingdom for a base!
Ok, perhaps a bad paraphrasing of a famous line in Shakespeare, but both my supply chain and inventory management system have failed me.  "Failed" is too strong a sentiment since both of these lapses are of my own undoing.  With recent fielding of several, unplanned command bases on 60mm rounds, I did not notice the wood pile nearing depletion of 60mm rounds until these two lads were ready for a base and time was too late.  When I rummaged through the wood pile, no 60mm round bases surfaced.

Without proper stock on hand, an order to Litko Aero was placed.  Unfortunately, Litko manufactures most bases to order and the lead time can, at times, seem insufferable.  Having placed an order on July 30th, email notification arrived this morning stating that the order was ready to ship.  With US Priority Mail, the Litko order should be in hand in a few days.  After arrival, basing of this, two-figure command stand will take little time.  Figures are BTD for the Reconquista project.    
State of the Wood Pile
While the wood pile above may look fully stocked, I took advantage of the 60mm round shortfall to restock a few other items as well.  Refinements are needed in my inventory management process to mitigate this type of delay in the future.  I am sure others experience this work stoppage too.  Oh, and don't get me started on the cost Litko charges for shipping!

6 comments:

  1. I understand on both counts. In fact the usual delay in my supply chain is waiting until I have depleted the stocks sufficiently to validate an order that will minimize the %-shipping value of the order.

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    1. My method as well although I try to keep from stocking out.

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  2. I trust you saw the new free shipping deal from Litko for orders over a certain amount? OK, it's $100, which is quite a lot of bases, but you know that as long as you keep painting, you'll need more bases! *I* usually run out of bases because I am waiting for a big enough order to mitigate the shipping charges!

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    1. Peter! This is the first I have heard of Litko free shipping. I must keep that in mind for the next time.

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  3. Nice knights, I sympathise over your base issue, I've got to sit down and send off a large order of bases, I think I'm procrastinating as I don't like basing!
    Best Iain

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    1. My basing issue should be resolved shortly. Litko says the package is on the way! for me, basing is ok and represents the final step to completion. I am always pleased when I reach the basing stage of the process.

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