Get A Better Stock System

[SpungE]

I'm seriously annoyed right now.

I ordered a whole new computer last night (bar a psu). Everything was in stock when I placed the order. Now excuse me for being presumptuous, but I don't really think I should expect a 'Delayed Order Notification' sitting in my inbox this evening.

You wouldn't get this from any other of the major computer component retailers. If they say something is in stock then it is in stock. I cleared my schedule for tomorrow and for what? The RAM I ordered from Novatech...

I would not mind so much if these 2 out of stock items did not hold up all the other components delivery. I do not want to wait till next Monday for the parts I ordered yesterday.

Please do something to cheers me up. Tell me you're getting the parts tomorrow morning and will be dispatching my stuff for Wednesday. Any longer and the least I would have expected was for the in stock items to be dispatched free of delivery charge.

This is my first major order with scan and the '3XS mindset' does not seem to be prevailing.

[LuckyNV]

Have your items actually gone out of stock when it showed in stock on the website?

Otherwise if there is a high volume of sales on any particular day then its first come first serve I'm afraid, there is a physical limit to the number of parcels Scan staff can send out.

So if you've only ordered yesterday (Sunday) then there is potentially a whole lot of people ahead of you since there might be people ordering late Friday, whole of Sat and all the time before you placed your order on Sunday.

If you mean an item showed "stock" when you placed your order and then shows "out of stock" and you receive a delayed order email, then yes that can be annoying.

[SpungE]

So if you've only ordered yesterday (Sunday) then there is potentially a whole lot of people ahead of you since there might be people ordering late Friday, whole of Sat and all the time before you placed your order on Sunday.

Yeah I understand that but that is a flaw in scan's system. For example, other online retailers have a system where if something is ordered, then the stock count is taken down by one, regardless of whether it is shipped yet or not. IE, if there are 5 items in stock and 5 are ordered on Sunday the 6th person would see that the item is out of stock. This stops customers from ordering something for the next day and then not getting it. Getting stuff when you want it is just as important as getting what you want, something that eBuyer have twigged to with their 'order by' ticker.

I did a bit of googling. Scan has had this problem for nearly a year at least from what I can tell. Maybe I'll sleep this off and be a a lot more forgiving in the morning but as of now, I probably wouldn't buy from scan again since I can't trust them to have what they say they have. It's just a sub par service from what I would expect, what with all these awards that are flashed around. Currently I am down £1100 with nothing to show for it.

[IronWarrior]

Hmm, I do think they need to manage their stock better, there are things listed on the website listed as ETA for weeks to months and everytime you chase these items up.. you get the same we don't know reply.

[TAKTAK]

everytime you chase these items up.. you get the same we don't know reply.

That's because they don't.

The tech world is wonderfully weird and diverse, if their supplier adds and item to their catalogue but then doesn't get any in, then SCAN adds it to theirs, then SCAN look like the baddies doing nothing, when it could well be the supplier, OBV they work tightly together, but sometimes it is just unavoidable due to stock shortages exacerbated by the manufacturers, just look at nintendo for example, they have gone the total opposite direction of microsoft, by keeping supply lower than demand, meaning that companies can be left waiting for stock for ages...

However, i digress, i do agree that the SCAN stock system is their 1 weak link in an otherwise sturdy chain,, could it be improved?

IMHO, not at this moment in time, there is too much going on in the current climate for SCAN to be doing a system re-jig, OBV that is just MHO, and in my experience of things going out of stock, SCAN have sorted it amicably, one thing i would say though, if you are in urgent need and want to make sure that their is stock available for your order, phone the order through instead...
It's not as if they are going to bite you on the phone

[Disturbedguy]

*yawn* same old same old posts tbh.

User has a problem ordering from SCAN, havent bothered with HEXUS before, create an account just to b***h because they aren't happy that the oh so precious item's they ordered are out of stock.

Yeah I understand that but that is a flaw in scan's system. For example, other online retailers have a system where if something is ordered, then the stock count is taken down by one, regardless of whether it is shipped yet or not. IE, if there are 5 items in stock and 5 are ordered on Sunday the 6th person would see that the item is out of stock. This stops customers from ordering something for the next day and then not getting it. Getting stuff when you want it is just as important as getting what you want, something that eBuyer have twigged to with their 'order by' ticker.

But your missing one key point as has already been mentioned which is order volume, there may have been 5 of item X in stock when you started placing your order and choosing your parts, but by the time you ordered 6 people have already chosen item X which mean's you end up not receiving it.

I did a bit of googling. Scan has had this problem for nearly a year at least from what I can tell. Maybe I'll sleep this off and be a a lot more forgiving in the morning but as of now, I probably wouldn't buy from scan again since I can't trust them to have what they say they have. It's just a sub par service from what I would expect, what with all these awards that are flashed around.

After this is your first major order as you stated in your first post, I think your comment is a bit wide of the mark stating that the service is sub par. It's ALWAYS easier for people to post and complain rather then post praise, the one thing about SCAN is they take any criticism someone may have on board and do there best to resolve the issue, regardless of what people may think.

Currently I am down £1100 with nothing to show for it.

Your not down anything, it's not like SCAN have taken the money, waved it in your face and said haha we're keeping this, your not getting anything for it, have they?

SCAN are a popular and well respect company, I bet your not the only person that has had a delayed order e-mail. I'd be more surprised if SCAN came back and confirmed you were the only person that has had this e-mail

[SpungE]

*yawn* same old same old posts tbh.

User has a problem ordering from SCAN, havent bothered with HEXUS before,

Sorry I didn't chose where scan put their 'care' forum.

create an account just to b***h because they aren't happy that the oh so precious item's they ordered are out of stock.

I won't apologise for being upset.

But your missing one key point as has already been mentioned which is order volume, there may have been 5 of item X in stock when you started placing your order and choosing your parts, but by the time you ordered 6 people have already chosen item X which mean's you end up not receiving it.

So their system does not update to show a product is out of stock until stuff is being picked. That is the problem.

After this is your first major order as you stated in your first post, I think your comment is a bit wide of the mark stating that the service is sub par. It's ALWAYS easier for people to post and complain rather then post praise,

I realise that. Which is why I ordered from scan despite the negative stuff posted all over the place (I search retailers before using them). For me, the service so far has been less than expected.

the one thing about SCAN is they take any criticism someone may have on board and do there best to resolve the issue, regardless of what people may think.

And I'm hoping they do. I'm giving them a chance here and trying not to be unreasonable. I could have canceled my order and taken my money elsewhere already, but I'm seeing if they live up to their own standards.

Your not down anything, it's not like SCAN have taken the money, waved it in your face and said haha we're keeping this, your not getting anything for it, have they?

I ordered from scan on the basis that they had what I wanted in stock and could deliver it today. The fact is I could have ordered from somewhere like eBuyer and I would probably have my computer up and running this afternoon. But because scan's stock thing said the items were in stock when they were really all spoken for, I've just ended up waiting longer then I would have ordering elsewhere.

SCAN are a popular and well respect company, I bet your not the only person that has had a delayed order e-mail. I'd be more surprised if SCAN came back and confirmed you were the only person that has had this e-mail

I know but in my opinion they need to address this and stop it from happening. A more dynamic/accurate stock indicator would be a vast improvement. For example, can you give me a reason why I should order from scan in the future if I can't be sure they have what they claim to have in stock when I could go elsewhere and know for sure that they will?

[Mossy]

You wouldn't get this from any other of the major computer component retailers. If they say something is in stock then it is in stock. I cleared my schedule for tomorrow and for what? The RAM I ordered from Novatech...

I feel that this is quite a strong accusation say that no other major retailer has delayed an order due to saying something is in stock and it may be a decrepancy.

As you can not PM your invoice number would it be possible for you to post it here and I can remove it. Hopefully we can get this sorted and find out the reason why your order has been delayed.

Regards

[SpungE]

I feel that this is quite a strong accusation say that no other major retailer has delayed an order due to saying something is in stock and it may be a decrepancy.

Hmm yes you're right this is just based off my experience which is subjective so I apologise for that assumption.

As you can not PM your invoice number would it be possible for you to post it here and I can remove it. Hopefully we can get this sorted and find out the reason why your order has been delayed.

Regards

00E1*****

[IronWarrior]

That's because they don't.

The tech world is wonderfully weird and diverse, if their supplier adds and item to their catalogue but then doesn't get any in, then SCAN adds it to theirs, then SCAN look like the baddies doing nothing, when it could well be the supplier, OBV they work tightly together, but sometimes it is just unavoidable due to stock shortages exacerbated by the manufacturers, just look at nintendo for example, they have gone the total opposite direction of microsoft, by keeping supply lower than demand, meaning that companies can be left waiting for stock for ages...

However, i digress, i do agree that the SCAN stock system is their 1 weak link in an otherwise sturdy chain,, could it be improved?

If you take the time to shop around, you soon relise that many other major and smaller retailers have "select" stock much sooner then scan does, so it might be a case of low supplies but this leads to a problem with scan not getting there first with their stock orders.

Don't get me wrong, I love scan, it's one of my favorite retaillers, I just think they are a little slow.

[Funkstar]

Scan also honour NDAs put in place by manufacturers, unlike other retailers. For certain items this means that Scan will have items on their site after others.

[Mossy]

The first point of call should of been leaving a online web query as this leads diectly to system. The stock system in question does work on a 1st come 1st served basis unfortuantely it did not have time to update upon your purchase which I apologise for.

The items in question are the Case and GPU I am prepared to off LN25971 in place of the GPU for the same price if you want to choose a different case I will look at getting that changed and your order shipped tonight.

Sorry for the inconvenience

Regards

[Mossy]

If you take the time to shop around, you soon relise that many other major and smaller retailers have "select" stock much sooner then scan does, so it might be a case of low supplies but this leads to a problem with scan not getting there first with their stock orders.

Don't get me wrong, I love scan, it's one of my favorite retaillers, I just think they are a little slow.

this is so far from the truth in Fact its the relationship you build between the suppliers and key companys as such we are 1st to actually get stock. We keep to NDA's for this reason and are favoured for allocation over other retailers.

Anyone can advertise stock whether its actually available is a different story, in this game its all about deliverence and afterservice.

[Saracen]

Sorry I didn't chose where scan put their 'care' forum.

And nor does it matter.

If you have a support "issue", and Scan have their support forum here, then you're more than welcome to create an account, even if it is just to complain. That is what a support forum is for.

You are welcome here even if that's the only thing you use us for. Of course, if you like it and stay, that'd be even better. It's not at all unknown for someone to arrive with a complaint, and end up staying around.

I won't apologise for being upset.

Nor should you need to. But perhaps we can help to address your concerns.

Obviously, only Scan can address what happened, when stock will come in or when you'll get your kit. But perhaps a few things need to be explained.

Firstly, stock levels are always an approximation and never guaranteed. I don't know of ANY retailer that will guarantee stock, if for no other reason than that physical stock doesn't always exactly match computer records. As an accountant, I spent enough time auditing stock checks to absolutely guarantee that, for all but the very smallest of companies.

There are many reasons for that, including everything from simple mistakes and miscounting, to staff theft .... and I'm talking generally, nort about Scan.

So stock records don't exactly match actual stock. That's problem one.

Problem two is the nature of the internet. Unless you have a realtime stock level counter that is perhaps doing a constant check on transactions, you aren't going to get accurate stock figures. Think about the process. You load your browser, click to a supplier and do a product query. They might tell you they've got 14 in stock, but it doesn't tell you either that they actually DO have 14, or what's happening with other customers.

Suppose I'm looking a XYZ Limiteds stock of Q6600 processors and it tells me there's 14. A few seconds later, you do a query and it tells you there's 14. Twenty other people do the same in the next few seconds. As it happens, I'm building 10 machines for a client, so I order 10.

If you're one of the next four people to click "buy" (and complete the order), you'll get one. If you're the fifth person, or if anyone else orders more than one, you won't.

The trouble is, until people actually ORDER, suppliers can't reduce stock levels, even on their records. If I enter 10 and "buy", then spend another half hour building the rest of the order, Scan (or anybody else) won't allocate those 10 processors to me until I actually confirm the order and pay. Why not? Well, because I might just change my mind and not buy them, and if they've allocated them to me and updated the stock level you see, it might suddenly show you that they have no stock, when in fact they do. And if they showed you "no stock" they'd probably lose your order, despite actually having stock they could have shipped.

There's more to it than that, but I'm sure you're getting the point. I'm not, personally, aware of ANY retailer that actually shows real-time stock levels on their website. Not a one.

Take PC World, for instance. They regularly show something as out of stock in a given branch, when in fact, it isn't out of stock. I know that because I caught them at it, queried it with a manager and he explained the rationale.

If they allow an online order to take place and the customer then drives to the store to collect only to find it isn't there, there's likely to be a scene. So they have a margin of error. When stock in branch drops below a given trigger level, the online system will show it as out of stock, but if you drive to the store, it may still be sitting on the shelf. I ordered a laptop cooler, went with a friend to collect and he decided to have one too. There were three in stock, but you only got the "online" price is you reserved. He tried to do that from the store, but the system showed "sold out" despite the fact we were sitting looking at two in stock.

Their problem is exactly where to set that "trigger" level.

Scan have much the same problem. We all want stuff as cheap as we can get it. Most online retailers (and many major stores) keep costs down by not holding stock for too long. If they do hold large amounts, and either prices change adversely or a product goes end-of-line, they end up losing a fortune on stock they hold.

So, it's a case of balancing how long it takes to get replacement stock against anticipated demand levels. The vast bulk of the time, this works just fine, and replacement stock arrives just before current stock is shipped. It goes wrong if they have 14 of something, and someone comes along and orders 10 in one go, though.

Oh, and another thing. When you go to website and it appears to show, say, 1500 in stock, how do you know what they actually have in stock? Is that stock level realistic, or a marketing tool? Is it that supplier's stock level, or is it their distributor's stock and they're just a sort-of drop-ship operation that holds no stock at all? Or is it an amalgam of the two, with them hold 25 and their supplier holding 1475, and you're facing exactly the same issue with stock discrepancies as you are with Scan, and it's just that Scan are more honest about it?

Believe me, all this type of thing goes on.


Is that helping with your upset? Probably not. In your shoes, I'd be upset, disappointed and frustrated too. Once I decide I want a new toy, it's bad enough having to wait for the courier to deliver, let alone getting an added and unanticipated delay. It's frustrating as hell, isn't it? But at least perhaps it helps understand what happened .... and that you'd be risking pretty much exactly the same thing anywhere else too.

.......

I know but in my opinion they need to address this and stop it from happening. A more dynamic/accurate stock indicator would be a vast improvement. For example, can you give me a reason why I should order from scan in the future if I can't be sure they have what they claim to have in stock when I could go elsewhere and know for sure that they will?

Well, yes, probably I can.

If you're like me, how a problem is dealt with is MUCH more important than whether you have a problem in the first place. To be clear, just about ANY company you order from can either get it wrong, or can supply goods with which you then have problems. If you have problems, how do they deal with them? Do they keep you informed? DO they react reasonably promptly? Are they courteous? Can you even get them to react at all? Do you have to use threats of court action to get their attention or, worse yet, actually have to take it to get your money back?

In my opinion, no company is perfect and I certainly don't always agree with what Scan do. But, by and large, my opinion is that they get it right far more often they they get it wrong, and that they do actually seem to care about customers and TRY to do all they can, which is more than can be said for some.

So why come to Scan when someone else claims to have it in stock? Well, because that other company might or might not have exactly the same stock issues as Scan whether you know of it or not, and moreover, might well not provide anything like such a good overall service.

For me, it's that overall service level, and the avoidance of as much hassle as possible over future problems that would keep me coming back to a company. It's not whether I had a problem - it's how they dealt with it. Your mileage, and reasoning, may, of course, vary.

[IronWarrior]

we are 1st to actually get stock.

This is a big thing to say, if this is true that you are the first to get items in stock, than why is LN24494 still not in stock, when others have it?

I really want to buy this item from you guys, it's not a super duper 4890 or 295 or anything, just a little overclocked 4670.

Damn Saracen, that is one long post, you deserved a thank you for that.

[SpungE]

OK I like the idea of switching the order to that LN25971 GPU. In terms of Case can I have LN16718 Antec 900 instead of the Antec 902 please?

If you can do that and get it shipped tonight then

Edit; <3 Saracen