Chief Delphi - [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

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Re: [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeeTwo (Post 1502184)

If managed properly, this would actually help make game pieces available. The demand for a FIRST game piece is mostly in a one-month time frame, and constitutes several years of normal demand. If FIRST orders 100,000 game pieces for base kits and competition, the manufacturer is not likely to make all of the 200,000 needed to fill the short-term demand. On the other hand, if many teams make this selection, and FIRST orders 200,000, the manufacturer is much more likely to make the other 100,000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDesbiens (Post 1502186)

That is a great explanation! I tought it was more about shipping delays...

It is all about the shipping. When FIRST decides on a game piece they put in an order for as many as they estimate will be needed. x% gets shipped to FedEx for packaging in kits, x% gets sent to FIRST for game use and x% gets shipped to AndyMark for teams to purchase whether for cash or points. All this will do is change the ratio of items going to FedEx vs AM.

Whether they make the right initial estimation or not is another story. Last year FIRST grossly over estimated how many totes were going to be damaged in game play so they purchased way too many, leading to lots of totes being shipped around the country never being touched. Yet teams really wanted 6 or more compatible totes so that they could practice making and transporting 6 stacks.

On the other hand they underestimated how many teams would pop their exercise balls in testing/practice for Ariel Assault leading to a shortage at AM.

Re: [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr V (Post 1502211)

These days, if an off-the-shelf non-perishable item takes much longer than a week to get (in the lower 48 of the U.S.A.), it's almost certainly a supply shortage, not a shipping problem (with the notable exceptions of batteries coming out of Hong Kong and anything coming out of or through places in a state of warfare). Companies absolutely do not want to be stuck with inventory that they can't move in a fairly short time frame; they could be using that money better.

Re: [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis (Post 1502153)

At least until Jan 9 I'm willing to believe what FIRST said in the blog post - the reason for doing this is only because of the time delay in shipping FIRST Choice items. If US teams can get the game piece in ~1 week through FIRST Choice, then that isn't all that bad. Waiting over half the build season, on the other hand, is horrible, especially if there's no other way to get it except through international shipping.

This. I'm taking what's said at face value because I have no reason not to think so at this point. Not having a bunch of the exact game pieces isn't a huge deal during brainstorming and proof of concept phases, thus why US teams haven't really complained before. It is a big deal as you get to specific mechanism design and testing, which is why overseas teams have complained.

Re: [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

I was just thinking with all this discussion about shipping costs - could that be a reason for this as well? Perhaps the game pieces are large or unusually shaped, thus making their shipment difficult or expensive, particularly internationally. Of course, anything larger than the recycling container from 2015 would get unwieldy pretty quickly....

Re: [FRC Blog] International Teams -- Game Piece Option

That pretty much settles the "Will there be game pieces?" question ala Game Sense! There will be game pieces, no doubt about it.