By Chris Sciacca
If you have been following the drama unfold on my blog, you read about the ups and downs of my attempt to ship my beloved Mini Cooper from New York to Austria. In the end I sold it for $7500, money which I recently put to use to buy a new BMW 1 Series like the one below -- actually exactly like it.
Unlike in the US, where we have massive new car lots and you point and pick your new car, I discovered in most of Europe you order your car and having it built taking on average 5-7 weeks. For Americans, who have little patience, build to order probably won't work as it does for PCs. But obviously for the manufacturer not having all your inventory sitting in a lot, aging under the sun and rain, is a good thing.
So BMW is build to order, which is fine, because I'm in no rush. My new car is made in Munich, Germany at BMW Welt and the company actually offers you the option to pick it up at the plant, where you'll get a tour of the manufacturing site and you'll be presented your new car as if you won it on The Price is Right.
Another unique feature is my salesperson can provide me with next to real time updates of the stage of manufacturing. So each week I can find out if its been painted, if the interior is done or if its sitting idle. Which I thought was cool. They could kick it up a notch and offer a live video feed specifically on my car. Either way, I'll be sure to take lots of photos when I pick it up on May 31.
Read more Supply Chains are Cool blogs.
Posted by IIE Blogs at 05/20/2008 08:01:31 AM |