Like many other experiences vented on this forum, I became very frustrated at the lack of receiving ordered GT parts that Ford showed in inventory. Here is my experience in ordering and receiving 2005-06 GT parts.
On July 1, I ordered various parts from my local Ford dealer for my recently purchased 2005 GT. It had 18,000 miles and was in mostly pristine condition, but needed replacement of a few semi-pristine parts and maintenance items. Ford required my registration, which, was promptly submitted. Most parts were quickly shipped two day FedEx and delivered to the dealer. The parts were shipped from Livonia, Michigan and Memphis, TN. A larger part was shipped truck freight and took a bit longer, which, was reasonable.
Now the delay. My dealer then lost the parts in their inventory. How can this happen? Very easily.
Some of these details may not be exactly correct, since each person I spoke with at the dealer had a slightly different description.
The standard Ford dealer order for a customer part is done through a computer process. This would include GT parts that are also used on non-GT vehicles, but excludes parts used solely on the GT (this adds complication, since not all GT parts are handled the same). The customer pays for the part, the parts counter guy enters the order, the order goes to Ford, Ford ships the part, the part gets delivered to the dealer, the backroom parts guy accepts the part delivery and hand scans the part. The scan enters the part into the dealer’s computer. Then the part either goes to dealer inventory or is flagged for a specific customer order and delivered to the customer. All computerized, and process oriented. No human accounting required.
Here is the dealer ordering process for parts used solely on GT’s. The customer pays for the part, the parts counter guy enters the order. While the part is on order, the dealer’s inventory shows a -1 in inventory (or on back-order) for this part. The order does not go to Ford since a special process is required. A dealer back office parts guy (different from the backroom parts guy) has to manually call in the order, Ford ships the part, the part gets delivered to the dealer, the backroom parts guy accepts the part delivery and hand scans the part. Now enter the confusion. The part apparently scans in differently, since it is a special order call in part. The part is not flagged as being for a specific customer order. The backroom parts guy places the part in the dealer’s vast inventory. Since the inventory previously showed -1 for this part in inventory, and now adds 1 to inventory (-1+1=0), the part does not show up on the dealer’s computer system as being in inventory. The system assumes it was delivered to the customer. So now the part is physically located in the dealer’s inventory, but the dealer’s computer system shows zero in inventory. Nobody knows it’s there. The special GT parts ordering process does not simply merge into the standard process. IF the dealer’s staff is not aware of this, the part appears to not exist. The part may not be found until an annual inventory count is completed.
Here is what happened after my parts were ordered on July 1. My repeated weekly visits to the parts counter guy resulted in the same answer. No parts delivered yet. Eventually, the parts guys figured out that my parts were in the dealer’s inventory. They located all but three of them. So about four weeks after ordering, I had all but three of my parts. The parts I received had 2 day FedEx labels with tracking numbers. Tracking showed all parts were delivered to the dealer in less than one week after ordering. The parts were lost in the dealer’s inventory, a result of the non-standard manual order/entry special GT ordering process. The dealer had them, but nobody knew the dealer had them.
For two of the three remaining parts, my continuing weekly visit to the parts counter guys resulted in all kinds of stories of what happened to my parts. Ford hasn’t shipped them yet, they’ve been lost in shipping, they have been shipped and delivered to another dealer, they’ve been shipped and damaged in shipping and have to be reordered, we cannot get any answers from Ford on order status………. Finally, once again, one of the parts was found in dealer inventory. Checking the tracking, it too was delivered to the dealer within one week of ordering. So, I received this one six weeks after ordering. The second of these two parts was just found and delivered to me. FedEx tracking showed Ford shipped this part (2 day shipping) three weeks after the original order date, there is a good chance the dealer missed this one on the original call in order and then placed the order late. Then it was lost in the dealer’s inventory for five weeks before they found it. So, I received this one eight weeks after ordering.
For the third remaining part, Ford showed zero in inventory and on back-order, at the time my order was placed. The parts counter guys could not provide any update on this part order, again due to the special call in order process. The dealer parts manager assigned follow-up on this one to a “special back office parts guy” (pun intended). He was very familiar with the Ford parts/invoicing system and knew about a Ford process to track this order within Ford. It is called a PACO (Parts Assistance Center On-Line) Inquiry. The dealer can email a PACO request to Ford regarding a part order issue. Ford will then check within their internal systems on order/part status and reply back to the dealer. It is assigned a PACO ticket number. This ticket number basically is a way for Ford to catalog the email for future reference. On follow-up requests, the dealer can reference this ticket number for Ford to see prior communication. A PACO Inquire was submitted for this part and indeed Ford did reply with a status update. His familiarity with Ford invoicing was key also. On the Ford invoices, he could see which parts were billed by Ford, meaning those parts had shipped. This prompted the inventory search for some of the parts described above.
In summary, Ford was actually extremely responsive with ordering, shipping and follow-up requests, done within the special GT process. However, appearances were that Ford was horribly responsive, only because the local dealer staff was not familiar with the special GT ordering process. This has been quite the learning experience for me as well as my local dealer. We maintain a great relationship and I must say my dealer was very gracious in taking the time to explain the information outlined above. The dealer is aware that I am providing this information on the Forum for the benefit of others. Is anybody still awake and reading?
If you order a GT part through your dealer and the order seems to vaporize, ask the dealer to request a PACO Inquiry from Ford and print you a copy of the reply (may take a couple of days). Or you can ask them to check their Ford invoices. If either of these indicates that the part was shipped, the part might be sitting in your dealer’s inventory and nobody knows it. You might also give your dealer a copy of this as a heads-up, if they are not familiar with the GT order process and potential tribulations.
On July 1, I ordered various parts from my local Ford dealer for my recently purchased 2005 GT. It had 18,000 miles and was in mostly pristine condition, but needed replacement of a few semi-pristine parts and maintenance items. Ford required my registration, which, was promptly submitted. Most parts were quickly shipped two day FedEx and delivered to the dealer. The parts were shipped from Livonia, Michigan and Memphis, TN. A larger part was shipped truck freight and took a bit longer, which, was reasonable.
Now the delay. My dealer then lost the parts in their inventory. How can this happen? Very easily.
Some of these details may not be exactly correct, since each person I spoke with at the dealer had a slightly different description.
The standard Ford dealer order for a customer part is done through a computer process. This would include GT parts that are also used on non-GT vehicles, but excludes parts used solely on the GT (this adds complication, since not all GT parts are handled the same). The customer pays for the part, the parts counter guy enters the order, the order goes to Ford, Ford ships the part, the part gets delivered to the dealer, the backroom parts guy accepts the part delivery and hand scans the part. The scan enters the part into the dealer’s computer. Then the part either goes to dealer inventory or is flagged for a specific customer order and delivered to the customer. All computerized, and process oriented. No human accounting required.
Here is the dealer ordering process for parts used solely on GT’s. The customer pays for the part, the parts counter guy enters the order. While the part is on order, the dealer’s inventory shows a -1 in inventory (or on back-order) for this part. The order does not go to Ford since a special process is required. A dealer back office parts guy (different from the backroom parts guy) has to manually call in the order, Ford ships the part, the part gets delivered to the dealer, the backroom parts guy accepts the part delivery and hand scans the part. Now enter the confusion. The part apparently scans in differently, since it is a special order call in part. The part is not flagged as being for a specific customer order. The backroom parts guy places the part in the dealer’s vast inventory. Since the inventory previously showed -1 for this part in inventory, and now adds 1 to inventory (-1+1=0), the part does not show up on the dealer’s computer system as being in inventory. The system assumes it was delivered to the customer. So now the part is physically located in the dealer’s inventory, but the dealer’s computer system shows zero in inventory. Nobody knows it’s there. The special GT parts ordering process does not simply merge into the standard process. IF the dealer’s staff is not aware of this, the part appears to not exist. The part may not be found until an annual inventory count is completed.
Here is what happened after my parts were ordered on July 1. My repeated weekly visits to the parts counter guy resulted in the same answer. No parts delivered yet. Eventually, the parts guys figured out that my parts were in the dealer’s inventory. They located all but three of them. So about four weeks after ordering, I had all but three of my parts. The parts I received had 2 day FedEx labels with tracking numbers. Tracking showed all parts were delivered to the dealer in less than one week after ordering. The parts were lost in the dealer’s inventory, a result of the non-standard manual order/entry special GT ordering process. The dealer had them, but nobody knew the dealer had them.
For two of the three remaining parts, my continuing weekly visit to the parts counter guys resulted in all kinds of stories of what happened to my parts. Ford hasn’t shipped them yet, they’ve been lost in shipping, they have been shipped and delivered to another dealer, they’ve been shipped and damaged in shipping and have to be reordered, we cannot get any answers from Ford on order status………. Finally, once again, one of the parts was found in dealer inventory. Checking the tracking, it too was delivered to the dealer within one week of ordering. So, I received this one six weeks after ordering. The second of these two parts was just found and delivered to me. FedEx tracking showed Ford shipped this part (2 day shipping) three weeks after the original order date, there is a good chance the dealer missed this one on the original call in order and then placed the order late. Then it was lost in the dealer’s inventory for five weeks before they found it. So, I received this one eight weeks after ordering.
For the third remaining part, Ford showed zero in inventory and on back-order, at the time my order was placed. The parts counter guys could not provide any update on this part order, again due to the special call in order process. The dealer parts manager assigned follow-up on this one to a “special back office parts guy” (pun intended). He was very familiar with the Ford parts/invoicing system and knew about a Ford process to track this order within Ford. It is called a PACO (Parts Assistance Center On-Line) Inquiry. The dealer can email a PACO request to Ford regarding a part order issue. Ford will then check within their internal systems on order/part status and reply back to the dealer. It is assigned a PACO ticket number. This ticket number basically is a way for Ford to catalog the email for future reference. On follow-up requests, the dealer can reference this ticket number for Ford to see prior communication. A PACO Inquire was submitted for this part and indeed Ford did reply with a status update. His familiarity with Ford invoicing was key also. On the Ford invoices, he could see which parts were billed by Ford, meaning those parts had shipped. This prompted the inventory search for some of the parts described above.
In summary, Ford was actually extremely responsive with ordering, shipping and follow-up requests, done within the special GT process. However, appearances were that Ford was horribly responsive, only because the local dealer staff was not familiar with the special GT ordering process. This has been quite the learning experience for me as well as my local dealer. We maintain a great relationship and I must say my dealer was very gracious in taking the time to explain the information outlined above. The dealer is aware that I am providing this information on the Forum for the benefit of others. Is anybody still awake and reading?
If you order a GT part through your dealer and the order seems to vaporize, ask the dealer to request a PACO Inquiry from Ford and print you a copy of the reply (may take a couple of days). Or you can ask them to check their Ford invoices. If either of these indicates that the part was shipped, the part might be sitting in your dealer’s inventory and nobody knows it. You might also give your dealer a copy of this as a heads-up, if they are not familiar with the GT order process and potential tribulations.
