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Do you know the difference between OTD and non-OTD vehicle lines, or which lines follow which process? The distinction may not be clear. OTD and non-OTD vehicle lines have distinct cycles and different purging and rollover allocation processes. Now that Maverick is an OTD vehicle line, a quick review may be helpful.
Precision Inventory Management is the largest Ford new vehicle ordering company, managing orders for over 200 dealerships in North America. We've navigated both OTD and non-OTD processes and know the ins and outs of ordering both ways.
OTD (Order to Deliver)
Vehicle Lines—Bronco Sport, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, Mustang (including Dark Horse), Mustang Mach-E, Ranger, Maverick, Aviator, Corsair, Nautilus, Navigator
Process—Wholesale commitment, OTD week 1 entity selections, OTD week 2 dressing
Monthly Cycle (Counting back from the last Wednesday of every month):
4th Wednesday back—OTD week 1
3rd Wednesday back—First week of the dressing period
2nd Wednesday back—Scheduling week for all OTD vehicle lines
Last Wednesday—No scheduling or clean up
SIMS/Recommended Orders—Created once a month over the weekend following OTD week 1. These must be adjusted to your needs, but their entity (body code and engine) is locked in based on your OTD week 1 selections in the WBDO wholesale tab.
Ford's Purging Process—Stock units on OTD vehicle lines cannot be deleted in WBDO. Stock units that don’t schedule will be purged if your allocation is completely used up. If your allocation is exhausted, Ford will purge any remaining unscheduled stock units before the OTD week 2 scheduling deadline.
Rollover Allocation—Rollover occurs only when commodities hold up scheduling. It is difficult to purposefully rollover allocation on OTD vehicle lines as Ford controls commodities at the entity and option levels within WBDO.
Non-OTD (Traditional Ordering Process)
Vehicle Lines—F-150, Super Duty, Transit, Bronco, some specialty units
Process—Wholesale commitment, scheduling weeks, allocation posted in RTOMs
Monthly Cycle (Counting back from the last Wednesday of every month):
4th Wednesday back—Cleanup week from prior month
3rd Wednesday back—First scheduling week of the new production month
2nd Wednesday back—Second scheduling week of the production month
Last Wednesday—Final week of new allocation scheduling for that wholesale production month
SIMS/Recommended Orders—Historically, SIMS are created weekly to match allocation numbers, though recently not always. Monitor WBDO’s recommended sections and scheduling outlook notes to stay updated. These SIMS can be amended to prevent scheduling, allowing you to add preferred stock units.
Ford's Purging Process—If you alter SIMS orders and change the order number or priority code (excluding priority 99), Ford will not purge the SIMS orders for you at the end of the week. You will, however, have the ability to delete them yourself the following week. Ford will purge any unscheduled SIMS orders if you do not change order number or priority code (excluding priority 99). 99 priority code is available to use on F-150, Super Duty, and Bronco SIMS to prevent scheduling.
Rollover Allocation—You aren't forced to build out all your allocation each month and can rollover allocation month to month by properly handling your SIMS. You will need to have all your allocation built out by balance out though.
Summary
Navigating the complexities of Ford’s vehicle ordering processes requires a clear understanding of the distinctions between OTD and non-OTD vehicle lines. OTD lines follow a strict monthly cycle with specific weeks dedicated to allocation, scheduling, and purging. Stock units in OTD lines are locked and purged if unscheduled, and rollover allocation is limited to cases of commodity constraints.
In contrast, non-OTD lines allow for greater flexibility in managing allocations and rollover. Dealers can adjust SIMS orders to prevent scheduling and strategically roll over allocation into future months.
The specialized data analysts at Precision have a deep understanding of OTD and non-OTD. They will blend your dealership data with market data—your competition—to make sure you’re getting units that will sell fast. Schedule a demo with us where we’ll use your actual data to give you actionable, data-driven recommendations.