Riley
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2003
- Messages
- 612
- Reaction score
- 4
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '13 XLT 4WD
Makes perfect sense. I quickly jumped to the in numerical order due to the inventory listings on ford.com. It really did seem they were coming out in order. I also noticed the assembly line had intermixed models (Taurus, then Explorer etc) too. Saw it on youtube . So how is the rotation number determined? Do they coordinate by region they are to be shipped? This stuff fascinates me. I know I am weird.
When a dealer orders more than one of the same model and they both get scheduled at the same time (scheduling gets done every Thur.) they will usually have sequential vins.
When a vehicle gets scheduled (vin assigned) it gets assigned a "build week". This puts in motion all the parts needed from suppliers for a particular model/options. As that week gets closer it gets assigned a "build day". Less than a week before build day it will be assigned a rotation number and all the parts needed for that vehicle are on hand in the plant to go down the line in sequence. The rotation number is given randomly with a few things factored in. Example: Certain options cannot be built one after another due to time such as the Vista Roof. By the time that is installed in one vehicle they would be behind on the very next one etc etc. So they space them out with a non-Vista roof every 3-4 vehicles. So basically the rotation number is assigned to average out the build time on each vehicle to keep the line running smoothly.