I say SLASH the KOP in half, reduce the registration fees, and increase the robot spending limit accordingly.
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Originally Posted by JVN
There are a lot of good points in that post. If they implemented some sort of voucher system, then they would need to buy parts on speculation.
(i.e. "we need to buy 1000x 10 tooth sprockets, but only 50x 25 tooth sprockets because most teams like 10 toothers.")
This would be a nightmare. FIRST would either buy enough for everyone, and then have too many (loss of money), or not buy enough and cause some teams to get "shutout" of some parts.
Imagine if FIRST bought 1000 widgets at $20 a pop, but only 100 teams bought a widget. How much money are they losing?
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IF we are serious about finding ways to save money associated with the KOP, why would we want to turn FIRST into a storage/warehouse/distribution/shipping company?? When ordering our "free" pneumatics in past years the "voucher"/order went directly to Bimba - that makes sense because they are already in the business of warehousing and handling their own products. Could a voucher system be set up with a certain dollar value towards certain components where the suppliers bill FIRST as the teams order the parts directly from the suppliers? There should not be any supply problems for the type of common/stock items we are talking about (sprockets, gears, bearings, wheels, etc ...)
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Are there other ways to save money?
Would a veteran team say "we don't need a compressor" and give it up. What if only rookie teams received battery chargers?
Is this unfair? Everyone pays the same registration fees, can there be a rookie/veteran kit?
I hope everyone starts to realize the complications that come with the KOP.
I learned a lot about the tremendous effort involved last summer, during the Kitbot proposal and implementation process.
JV
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Better yet, let's save FIRST even more money - the cost of the book-keeping effort of a voucher program like this could still be significant ... Why not just shortcut the existing system? Eliminate all of the standard/stock type components from the kit, reduce the $6000 registration fee by the "value" of these items (down to $4000 or $5000), and let the teams order their own components as needed to complete their design?? We may not realize the volume discounts that FIRST is now getting, but we are also not buying "10 sprockets" for every one we use.
It seems so simple ...
WE spend our money on what
WE NEED. And since rookies are eligible for the $6000 NASA grant their first two years that would help them to stock up on some of the aforementioned "non-consumables" (battery chargers, air compressors, etc ...)
Other than the consideration of how much of the kit is donated, it seems to me that EVERYONE WINS in a scenario like that ... am I missing something??