What's going on at PDU? - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Colin (MATROPHY)	27 Mar 2007
To:	ALL	1 of 15

6448.1

I have noticed a large number of untimely and odd stockouts at PDU in the past few months. The latest one (today) was that I was told that they were out of '07' trims until mid-April. Before that, they were out of the male and female 'kid' basketball figures - right in the middle of basketball season.

How do you run out of '07' trims in March?? Wouldn't you figure that the demand for year date trimswould be pretty constant from year-to-year? I could see running out in November or so but this early in the year?

Is anyone else noticing these problems or do I just have the bad luck of lately needing what they don't have?

Now that I've switched to JDS '07' trims, I guess I'll stay with JDS for those from now on...

From:	logojohn	27 Mar 2007
To:	Colin (MATROPHY)	2 of 15

6448.2 In reply to 6448.1
Are you ordering from PDU directly or from one of the distributors? We use tons of PDU bases and figures and I haven't had a problem with outages lately from our closest distributor, Liberty Supply. We also have Plastics Plus and Claytex nearby for backup. They have several or at least more than one style of 07 figures. I haven't experienced any problems with the style we use yet. lj

From:	John (ICTJOHN)	27 Mar 2007
To:	Colin (MATROPHY)	3 of 15

6448.3 In reply to 6448.1

Colin,

Maybe this has something to do with the letter from PDU dated March 05, 2007 that states:

"PDU is moving the majority of their PRODUCTION offshore."

"...pass along significant savings..."

"We may encounter product shortages,..."

"The move offshore is expected to be fully completed by the end of the year."

John
http://www.creative-awards.com
creativeawards@msn.com

From:	Colin (MATROPHY)	27 Mar 2007
To:	logojohn	4 of 15

6448.4 In reply to 6448.2
Good point. Maybe it's my distributor not keeping up their end. I'm in California so I don't have many local choices for distributors but Liberty Supply has bailed me out before.

From:	Colin (MATROPHY)	27 Mar 2007
To:	John (ICTJOHN)	5 of 15

6448.5 In reply to 6448.3
I didn't see that letter so that would explain it. Still, how do you run out of '07' trims - any '07' trims - in March? It so happened that I needed 60 for an order that I do every year where only one style of trim would fit the trophy.

From:	Engravin' Dave (DATAKES)	27 Mar 2007
To:	Colin (MATROPHY)	6 of 15

6448.6 In reply to 6448.5

Colin,

I'd be surprised if they order their whole year's inventory at one time at the beginning of the year? I am sure they just under estimated their first quarter sales which is likely based on prior years' sales. The silver lining in all this is that business must be up in '07. :-)

EDITED: 27 Mar 2007 by DATAKES

From:	Doc (GREAT_ATLANTIC)	28 Mar 2007
To:	Colin (MATROPHY)	7 of 15

6448.7 In reply to 6448.1
It has to do with some unfortunate timing from what I understand. PDU decided to make the difficult decision to move production offshore.....just before the Chinese New Year and their full-month shutdown. Oops! Jim

From:	Doc (GREAT_ATLANTIC)	28 Mar 2007
To:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	9 of 15

6448.9 In reply to 6448.8
quote: Around their new year we see very few and they are usually in a foul mood. Apparently champagne isn't part of their celebration! :O) Jim

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	28 Mar 2007
To:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	10 of 15

6448.10 In reply to 6448.8
Harvey, Coincidentally, full moon and foul mood are only two letters apart, from being the same words. :-) Edit: Ooops! Where did I get the full moon reference? Must have been when I read "full-month" in Jim's post. Duhh! :B David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA
EDITED: 28 Mar 2007 by DGL

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	28 Mar 2007
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	11 of 15

6448.11 In reply to 6448.10
It is a full moon attitude. Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem) When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	gt350ed	28 Mar 2007
To:	Colin (MATROPHY)	12 of 15

6448.12 In reply to 6448.1
We're actually so close to PDU's location in El Monte, CA that we have almost always dealt with them direct. However, lately we HAVE run into out-of-stock situations and, as a result, we have met with SOME success by going to Western Trophy out of its San Diego location. Although we love their service, their PDU stock is now starting to run low, as well. Our PDU rep stopped by on Monday. He confirmed that the production transfer to China is not in sync with the needs of their clients but, unfortunately, they have to work through this until it is accomplished. There's no turning back. Interestingly, when we call PDU of late, we are often given a date when items are expected and, because their new catalog and pricing is not out yet, we ask if there has been a change in price from their previous schedule. On several items the answer has been "yes, the price will be lower". In the meantime, PDU is coming out with a lot of new stuff. You just can't get it right now. Ed Holley Victor Valley Trophy & Awards Co. and Coffee Mugs Online www.coffeemugsonline.com

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	28 Mar 2007
To:	gt350ed	13 of 15

6448.13 In reply to 6448.12
In all improvements, there are usually glitches. At least they are up front about it. That certainly requires a kudo. Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem) When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	28 Mar 2007
To:	Jer (DIAMOND)	15 of 15

6448.15 In reply to 6448.14
That's what I have Wifey for. Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem) When you finally understand it completely... it changes.