Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Groups and Customer Pull

Bostig manufactures in small batches or groups. Because the marketplace and Bostig itself are so small in scale, we try to make it a point to not carry inventory of kits either. This makes changes to the kit itself faster/easier and has contributed to the success and quality of the system.  In addition, because cashflow is extremely important in small businesses, we try not to tie up cash in inventory. It is better used for ongoing R&D etc.

Instead of the traditional customer push model that you are used to in larger or mainstream markets, we use customer pull. Customer push is what most people are familiar with, build a bunch of product, and keep it in inventory, then use price incentives and marketing to move product out of inventory or "push" to the customer. The customer pull model allows us to build a group essential "on demand".  The cycle time is longer, for the customer but the results are much better. Value is higher to the customer and the product itself gets updated much more often.  We *sometimes* carry kits in inventory, however those kits are usually reserved for documentation work and internal use, however we will sometimes allow people to buy reserve kits for an additional surcharge vs the group purchase price. If you're really in a pinch, you can always ask us if we have any reserve kits available. The surcharge runs $500.

Someone also asked what the differences were between RG2 and RG3, and the answer is yes, but all RG1 and RG2 can be made to RG3 spec with minimal extra time/purchases. The main change is the airbox moving to the driver's side, a change which speeds up airbox modification for fitment and retains the intake resonator which quiets the intake noise even further.  Other changes are tune based, and can be updated via email and reflashing of the ECU.

Cheers,

Jim