Vehicle Build Dates

chuck stein

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Have to ask, since a lot of info that is fed here comes from "BlueOval" forum.......,

When exactly does Ford ink their model plans for a new year model? Is it 1-2yrs ahead of actual production so they can prepare for tooling and supply chain as needed?, or would all that happen in the same month Ford releases their model brochure for that new year model?
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P. A. Schilke

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Hi Chuck,

I really do not understand what you mean "when does ford INK their model plans....".

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Phil Schilke
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chuck stein

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Hi Chuck,

I really do not understand what you mean "when does ford INK their model plans....".

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Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Phil,
It's a simple question.
Let me try again.
Ford builds cars and trucks via production line manufacturing, probably using the Toyota JIT methodology. So let's say you are getting ready to do a production run of the 2020 F150, would you have all your engineering and supply chain finalized sometime in 2018 (possibly even 2017), or would you have it finalized in Oct of 2019 and start building in Jan 2020?

So back to my original post, how far in advance do you (Ford) know what you'll be building for a new model year?
 

RedlandRanger

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Phil,
It's a simple question.
Let me try again.
Ford builds cars and trucks via production line manufacturing, probably using the Toyota JIT methodology. So let's say you are getting ready to do a production run of the 2020 F150, would you have all your engineering and supply chain finalized sometime in 2018 (possibly even 2017), or would you have it finalized in Oct of 2019 and start building in Jan 2020?

So back to my original post, how far in advance do you (Ford) know what you'll be building for a new model year?
Chuck, I would assume things have probably changed since Phil retired. JIT everything seems to be the norm for just about everyone. Its all about the money.
 


P. A. Schilke

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Phil,
It's a simple question.
Let me try again.
Ford builds cars and trucks via production line manufacturing, probably using the Toyota JIT methodology. So let's say you are getting ready to do a production run of the 2020 F150, would you have all your engineering and supply chain finalized sometime in 2018 (possibly even 2017), or would you have it finalized in Oct of 2019 and start building in Jan 2020?

So back to my original post, how far in advance do you (Ford) know what you'll be building for a new model year?
Hi Chuck,

It depends on the parts. Yes we have had JIT for many parts, However as for engineering, it depends. We have long lead tooling and the designs for these parts, eg Frames is finalized based on Purchasing and the supplier agreeing, but some parts can be finalized quite late, eg engine mounts that can have the rubber chemistry tuned to support production quite late in the game. There are certainly drop dead dates for production parts in the plants or heading to the plant in case of JIT. Much of the interior of the vehicle is JIT. There is a time table for meeting JOB 1.. but we have what is called 4P builds...Pre Production Product Proveout. These units built during 4P are salable but usually used for forward model prototypes or verification and then scrapped. 4P usually occurs about a month before Job 1. Probably did not answer your question, and Rob is correct...much has changed over the years since I retired.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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chuck stein

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Disregard JIT here. I only mentioned it because using that methodology makes supply chain logistics more critical than warehousing buckets of parts, etc.

You can agree?, Ford is likely not finalizing designs, options, and supply chains in Oct 2020 for the production build of the 2021 F150. Do you agree with that?
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