AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

All this assumes that FFG knows how to manage their supply chain....

AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

Thanks for that, but a little info on myself, I have over 20 years of Supply Chain experience, so when I said it was stupid, it was not a fanboy I want my stuff rant, but an educated "it is stupid". Our local store orders all the FFG promo kits for the games they have an active community for (Xwing, Armada, Netrunner and several others) so it was not their doing not ordering. They order through a distributor (like most stores that don't do MM, CSI or Amazon quantities) and the distributor did not order any for their customers. FFG has never had a good track record with their supply chain and the take over of Assmodee has not seemed to improve this very much.

AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

Thanks for that, but a little info on myself, I have over 20 years of Supply Chain experience, so when I said it was stupid, it was not a fanboy I want my stuff rant, but an educated "it is stupid". Our local store orders all the FFG promo kits for the games they have an active community for (Xwing, Armada, Netrunner and several others) so it was not their doing not ordering. They order through a distributor (like most stores that don't do MM, CSI or Amazon quantities) and the distributor did not order any for their customers. FFG has never had a good track record with their supply chain and the take over of Assmodee has not seemed to improve this very much.

Thats nice. I can't go into my personal insight into this, but you are confirming is exactly what I just said. The distributor probably dropped the ball in this particular case for whatever reason. Would you expect FFG to randomly print a quantity determined by voodoo magic to cover your store? I won't comment on the Asmodee takeover and its impact, but believe me when I tell you if everyone in the chain does their job FFG does a very good job of supplying OP materials.

AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

Thanks for that, but a little info on myself, I have over 20 years of Supply Chain experience, so when I said it was stupid, it was not a fanboy I want my stuff rant, but an educated "it is stupid". Our local store orders all the FFG promo kits for the games they have an active community for (Xwing, Armada, Netrunner and several others) so it was not their doing not ordering. They order through a distributor (like most stores that don't do MM, CSI or Amazon quantities) and the distributor did not order any for their customers. FFG has never had a good track record with their supply chain and the take over of Assmodee has not seemed to improve this very much.

Thats nice. I can't go into my personal insight into this, but you are confirming is exactly what I just said. The distributor probably dropped the ball in this particular case for whatever reason. Would you expect FFG to randomly print a quantity determined by voodoo magic to cover your store? I won't comment on the Asmodee takeover and its impact, but believe me when I tell you if everyone in the chain does their job FFG does a very good job of supplying OP materials.

Players (and retailers) of Destiny would disagree strongly with your claim FFG does a good job of providing supply.

Players (and retailers) of Destiny would disagree strongly with your claim FFG does a good job of providing supply.

And are FFG directly to blame, or just the people in their sights?

I approached a local store about this kit, as CC would absolutely motivate me to play someplace other than home and put some legitimate organizational effort in... but their response about both availability and timeframe has basically been the shrugging man emoji. Disappointing, but not terribly surprising. If anyone has heard more concrete details I'd love to hear them so I can push back a bit.

Otherwise it's ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for me as well. I'm still having fun at home!

Players (and retailers) of Destiny would disagree strongly with your claim FFG does a good job of providing supply.

And are FFG directly to blame, or just the people in their sights?

Supply chain management failures are the fault of FFG. Other industries are able to deliver promised product on schedule.

The Destiny supply failures are epic. Little product before Christmas. They failed to budget in time for delays. That is on them 100%.

Don't overpromise then underdeliver.

Also, underestimating demand isn't an excuse. That is what market research is for.

No, but contracting a manufacturer and then finding unanticipated defects in manufacturing leading to delays and reprints is also a factor that would be deemed outside of FFG's control.

Even when its a reliable manufacturer. One that you've contracted with before. This stuff happens with new production procedures.

FFG is the easy target to blame, there. Because you at least have a name.

Ultimately, attempting to equate something that is POD (and completely within FFG's control, as it is their manufacturing) and something that is contracted out to production is at best, unfair.

And I'm not going to say that FFG doesn't have something to account for over the Destiny release... But again, saying they are wholly and totally to blame and incompetent is, again, somewhat unfair.

No, but contracting a manufacturer and then finding unanticipated defects in manufacturing leading to delays and reprints is also a factor that would be deemed outside of FFG's control.

Even when its a reliable manufacturer. One that you've contracted with before. This stuff happens with new production procedures.

FFG is the easy target to blame, there. Because you at least have a name.

Also, when FFG contracts out manufacturing, they are wholey responsible for the consequences of that decision.

It most likely will cost them a huge hit.

There a point were you have to call bs to what ffg says. Armada is the second best seller. Really why are you pumping out imperial assault expansions monthly and xwing bi monthly and Armada when you have an opening. Why was imperial assault given major rules changes to fix issues and Armada gets a letter then FAQ reverses and makes things worse.

No, but contracting a manufacturer and then finding unanticipated defects in manufacturing leading to delays and reprints is also a factor that would be deemed outside of FFG's control.

Even when its a reliable manufacturer. One that you've contracted with before. This stuff happens with new production procedures.

FFG is the easy target to blame, there. Because you at least have a name.

Not a legitimate excuse either, because Dice Masters had similar problems. You learn to budget time based on reality. FFG is to blame for being unable to manage their supply chain properly.

Also, when FFG contracts out manufacturing, they are wholey responsible for the consequences of that decision.

It most likely will cost them a huge hit.

Yes, FFG is wholly and solely responsible when a port explodes in China.

Respectively, the only other thing I have to ask is - why do we feel a need to blame, anyway? What does blaming get us? What does whining get us?

If you have seen a imperial assault expansion and then opened CC you can only hang your head and cry

Oh and the IA exspansion are similarly priced

No, but contracting a manufacturer and then finding unanticipated defects in manufacturing leading to delays and reprints is also a factor that would be deemed outside of FFG's control.

Even when its a reliable manufacturer. One that you've contracted with before. This stuff happens with new production procedures.

FFG is the easy target to blame, there. Because you at least have a name.

Not a legitimate excuse either, because Dice Masters had similar problems. You learn to budget time based on reality. FFG is to blame for being unable to manage their supply chain properly.

Also, when FFG contracts out manufacturing, they are wholey responsible for the consequences of that decision.

It most likely will cost them a huge hit.

And FFG has been making card games for years, it is not like Destiny was a new direction for them. And speaking of cards the Armada CC kit is all cards. There is not much cost associated with these kits, probably less than a dollar per kit. Even with a new system of play, they could have forecasted better for demand.

AFAIK these will be POD (Print On Demand) for a while, but FFG does not and cannot randomly guess how many to print and hope it all turns out OK. This is why YOU are the most important piece of this process. IIRC when the existence of these was made public the pre-order window was still open, so the way it's supposed to work is bottom-up demand generation.

People who play Armada bug their stores and give them an idea of how many they will need, stores bug their suppliers to make sure they get an order in the pre-order window and then suppliers/distributors tell FFG how many they will need to cover store demand and i assume FFG will typically print exactly that many and a few overs just in case. This explains why there is a gap between pre-order window and delivery and why if you miss the window you likely will not get one as none was printed for you!

From the outside looking in it seems "stupid" because somewhere in this chain where you can't see, something broke down and it's frustratingly out of your control, but when it works as intended it works well for everyone.

Sometimes people assume (incorrectly) their store will order these automatically

Sometimes stores forget to put in their orders and miss the window OR simply underestimate the demand!

Sometimes distributors don't think to order a couple extra to cover those stores (can't blame them, cause if no-one wants them they get to eat the cost)

so their numbers aren't counted towards the total and Bobs your uncle.

Thanks for that, but a little info on myself, I have over 20 years of Supply Chain experience, so when I said it was stupid, it was not a fanboy I want my stuff rant, but an educated "it is stupid". Our local store orders all the FFG promo kits for the games they have an active community for (Xwing, Armada, Netrunner and several others) so it was not their doing not ordering. They order through a distributor (like most stores that don't do MM, CSI or Amazon quantities) and the distributor did not order any for their customers. FFG has never had a good track record with their supply chain and the take over of Assmodee has not seemed to improve this very much.

Thats nice. I can't go into my personal insight into this, but you are confirming is exactly what I just said. The distributor probably dropped the ball in this particular case for whatever reason. Would you expect FFG to randomly print a quantity determined by voodoo magic to cover your store? I won't comment on the Asmodee takeover and its impact, but believe me when I tell you if everyone in the chain does their job FFG does a very good job of supplying OP materials.

Players (and retailers) of Destiny would disagree strongly with your claim FFG does a good job of providing supply.

Reading comprehension: FAILURE. I said OP materials specifically.

I an not able to comment on the destiny launch but that is 100% off topic. We are discussing OP materials and that is a completely different department and supply mechanism.

Idle speculation, sour grapes and frustrated fans do not facts make.

After more inquires it was made clear that it is too late to get a CC kit and they are NOT a print on demand item as was rumored, somehow we just didn't get notice when the pre-orders were open. About the best we have managed is to get added to a "waiting list" of those interested in getting a pair of kits in the event of any order cancellations.