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Model year balance outs can be a strain on time and resources. Imagine being able to capture all the best commodities without having to take all the leftovers. With the right strategies, you can navigate balance outs smoothly and come out ahead.
Our goal is to equip Ford dealers with essential inventory tips and practices for smarter ordering decisions.
Precision Inventory Management is the largest Ford new vehicle ordering company, managing orders for over 200 dealerships in North America. We've consistently secured top commodities and navigated numerous model year changeovers, ensuring our stores receive the best units.
Let’s use the 24MY F-150 balance out as an example. The 2024 F-150s are slated to finish scheduling on September 5th, and the 2025 F150s are scheduled to begin scheduling on September 12th. Here are our top tips for navigating balance out:
Prevent SIMS from Scheduling
Place F-150 recommended orders on priority 99 to avoid automatic scheduling of SIMS. Many dealers don’t realize this is now an option. You don’t have to alter them—you can just put them on 99 as a scheduling hold.
Utilize Priority Codes
Build your order banks by placing your most important builds between priority codes 20 and 25. Beyond that, stack your order bank with backup orders based on Ford's cleanup notes.
Monitor Previews
Place your orders on Mondays. Check previews on Tuesdays and add more orders based on what you see previewing. If you're previewing out of a commodity that you want (e.g., 3.5L Ecoboost Lariat 501A Black Package), put in more to maximize grabbing the good commodities. Check previews again on Wednesday and repeat.
Navigating Commodities
Ensure you have different commodities in your order bank to understand what's available at the plant that week. Recently, the most common issues we see when analyzing commodities for our dealers include:
Trim Levels—Most likely to be available: XL, STX, and XLT.
Engines—Most likely to be available: 2.7L and 3.5L Ecoboost.
Appearance Packages—Most likely to be available: Chrome.
Axles—Sometimes it's as simple as adding the Max Tow axle to get units scheduled.
Options to Avoid During Balance Out—Spray-in bedliner and tonneau covers can hold up orders.
Summary
Balance out doesn’t have to be a pain. Set SIMS to priority code 99 to prevent scheduling, use priority codes 20–25 for key builds, monitor previews throughout the week, and avoid constrained components that delay scheduling. These steps ensure better units and a smoother process.
Because Precision Inventory Management orders nearly 10% of Ford’s North American production, we generate our own commodity data using Tuesday and Wednesday preview data. We know what commodities can’t schedule in a given week and what windows are open that we should chase, giving us a more complete look than what Ford’s cleanup notes provide.
Our specialized data analysts use that preview data, your lot data, and market data—your competition—to make sure you’re getting units that will schedule and sell fast. Precision will get you an unfair share of the fastest moving units. Schedule a demo with us where we’ll use your actual data to give you actionable, data-driven recommendations.