Kingston Update: September 1st
Having received the first batch of parts we have been and continue to review the parts and begin the process of organizing the parts in preparation for the trip to the assembler. The first batch of parts should be ready to leave here by the end of next week.
As many of you already know the orders for the Plank Owners and the Second stage have been entered into the ticket system. At the moment we are working on the serial numbers and organizing the orders in order to figure out the order in which we will be delivering the watches. The ticket system will be updated with this information as soon as it is ready.
I expect to begin test assemblies of the Kingston over the Labor Day weekend. This will determine what adjustments will have to be made to optimize the assembly process and to complete additional QC of the mass production.
Parts kits….I will work on the web page ordering for the Pre-order customers to make their selections for their parts kits after the first batch of components are on their way to Switzerland.
Kingston Update
The new CRM system is currently being updated with the Kingston pre-orders. It will take probably a week to get all of the orders into the system.
Update: Stingray 2011
This weekend I finalized the details of the new Stingray. There is still a lot of grunt work required to develop the final drawings but the basic design and details have been decided. I am one step closer to the new Stingray.
Kingston Update: Parts have arrives!
I picked-up the case parts on Friday. I will be reviewing them next week.
Project 300 update
I have the pricing in and will be working on creating the survey so that we can finally figure out if we should continue with the project based on the upgraded specifications.
Sorry for the delay but with European side of the watch industry going on vacation it was very trying to get information about new projects when everyone else is concerned with buttoning up their current/open projects so that they could go on vacation.
Kingston Update: General Order
I have completed my review of the General Orders received at the end of May. I am pleased to inform those that have submitted deposits that all of the orders placed at the time are “confirmed”. The next phase is for me to set up a mailing list for those of you participating in the General Order phase of the Kingston project. We will be providing you additional instructions through the mailing list later in the year. Depending on how deliveries of the Pre-orders proceed you should expect to receive those instructions sometime in November/December of 2010. No further action is required at this time.
Until the mailing list is set up for the General Order customers I invite you to check the blog for updates.
Update: July 26th 2010
It seems practically overnight I have a “staff” of people coming online shortly. A new person will be starting tomorrow that will be charged with answering e-mails (so be gentle). I have farmed out some of my back-office work to a local accountant. Last but not least we recently have been fortunate to have a noted forumer volunteer his services to our WIS forum to suppliment the valued contributions of JoeK. I don’t see my workload getting any lighter but my hope is that the work that I have been doing on my own will be finally be done more consistently and with better response times.
This afternoon I will be installing new software, inputting more orders into the ticket system, and getting everything set up so that these individuals can work together as smoothly as possible. I will be switching gears to watch work this evening.
Order Status portal link incorrect…
Out blog was re-skinned a little while ago (meaning we updated the look to better match the main site). During the process the web designer incorrectly copied the link for the order status portal. Currently when you click on the “order status portal” tab it sends you to the correct site (our customer relationship management “CRM” portal) but to the wrong section of the site. If you try to submit a ticket it only has one choice: “General Inquiries” This is a section of the CRM portal that we haven’t started using yet.
I am asking the web designer to update the order status portal link to the correct one, which is:
This is the same link that customers have been getting in the e-mails that have been going out with the PDF copies of their sales orders or when the order status portal has been updated for their order.
Until the SNAFU is fixed, if you have a current order with us please us the link you received in your e-mail or the one above to correspond with us.
Please note that the order status portal is still being updated for the orders that were received before the portal went online. These orders have to be manually inputted into the system since the old system and new system are incompatible, so this will take some time. When the order status portal has been updated for your order you will receive an e-mail from the system.
UPDATE: Order status portal linking to the correct section of the CRM now. Not sure what the problem is so I am leaving this post up until we can determine the exact reason for the glitch.
Kingston: Case parts are inbound!
Finally the first batch of Kingston case parts are on their way. They should arrive sometime next week, allowing for the normal delay for Custom’s clearance.
Kingston Update: July 16, 2010
Finally the first batch of cases have passed the second to last stage of quality control. The last stage is when I receive the parts and begin my review. I expect to be invoiced for the parts and hope to have the parts in hand before the end of this month.
The case tubes that needed to be re-worked were received a week or two ago (its a bit of blurr at the moment) and they were sent off the case manufacturer this week. So as long as their review finds no additional problems the rest of the cases can be finished in August.
Order status portal: Due to the work schedule this week I wasn’t able to begin updating the order status portal for the Pre-order customers as planned. I will begin creating all of the “tickets” for the pre-order customers next week.