Should DJI just stop taking in preorders?

[Jackie Leung]

With such a production disaster at the moment.

Do you think DJI should stop taking in orders from all channels right away, until they sorted out their current situation first?

Discussion

 

[Mick Walker]

I don't think so, as with any company DJI needs the influx of capital in order to justify the production of more units - this is what most companies do. What DJI need to do is be transparent with the order fulfilment process.

 

[Pommo70]

Yes they should. Due to the 'unprecedented demand' they are unable to supply the orders they have already, which have mostly been charged for! If they can't produce then they shouldn't be taking orders. I think they're up **** creek without a paddle. The lack of communication is very worrying. I'm glad I cancelled my order and that I kept my P4.

 

[Alex Baxter]

With such a production disaster at the moment.

Do you think DJI should stop taking in orders from all channels right away, until they sorted out their current situation first?

Discussion

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what 'killed' 3DR with their Solo, over-production based on a guess about order numbers. It's better for DJI to ensure they keep production at or just under the demand. I'm sure DJI are delighted not to be able to fulfil demand, whilst we chew our fingernails... GoPro also did the overstocking thing in the past, and now Karma deliveries are way behind, as they too are being cautious about demand..

 

[AlexSP]

I totally agree with @Alex Baxter on this. If production is a disaster then stop taking orders would cause a demand or revenue disaster, which for any company are much worse kinds. Plus it would signal bad things to the market, such as they're not entirely confident in the Mavic or worse.

And yeah, I'm sure DJI is delighted with the situation, any "sane" company would be. Production will soon catch up and everything will be back to normal... until they come up with Mavic Plus next yr or so, that is

 

[MavicMo]

I guess it can be thought of that way, but it wasn't really "over-production" but rather poor demand due to price, unknown reputation, and some problems were more likely is the cause of its demise. The Solo was expensive even for price standards at the time. It did not include the camera gimbal initially. That was an additional expense. When the Gimbal came out there were some initial issues. Price was still comparatively high. You also had to have or buy a GoPro 3+ or Hero 4. Also not many people were willing to take the chance with the Solo since 3DR was not established with the same consumer base as DJI.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what 'killed' 3DR with their Solo, over-production based on a guess about order numbers. It's better for DJI to ensure they keep production at or just under the demand. I'm sure DJI are delighted not to be able to fulfil demand, whilst we chew our fingernails... GoPro also did the overstocking thing, and now Karma deliveries are way behind..

 

[Lee Hughes]

just wait 5 more months and you can buy the mavic 2

 

[tchoupsley]

Not preorders anymore, it's backorders. It's been released.

 

[Alex Baxter]

I totally agree with @Alex Baxter on this. If production is a disaster then stop taking orders would cause a demand or revenue disaster, which for any company are much worse kinds. Plus it would signal bad things to the market, such as they're not entirely confident in the Mavic or worse.

And yeah, I'm sure DJI is delighted with the situation, any "sane" company would be. Production will soon catch up and everything will be back to normal... until they come up with Mavic Plus next yr or so, that is

Yep, if they get exponentially better like the Mavic over the P4, then it'll be a must-have remortgage the house item

I guess it can be thought of that way, but it wasn't really "over-production" but rather poor demand due to price, unknown reputation, and some problems were more likely is the cause of its demise. The Solo was expensive even for price standards at the time. It did not include the camera gimbal initially. That was an additional expense. When the Gimbal came out there were some initial issues. Price was still comparatively high. You also had to have or buy a GoPro 3+ or Hero 4. Also not many people were willing to take the chance with the Solo since 3DR was not established with the same consumer base as DJI.

To quote Forbes.. Behind The Crash Of 3D Robotics, North America's Most Promising Drone Company
Still, 3D Robotics executives remained bullish on Solo’s potential, forecasting huge sales for the holiday season. According to one employee, CFO John Rex and Anderson, who had already committed to make 60,000 of the quadcopters with contract manufacturer PCH International, decided in mid-June with less than a month of sales data that an additional 40,000 devices should be built. That represented a significant commitment, said another person who helped engineer Solo, because each drone and its gimbal cost more than $750 to manufacture and ship to retailers. Though the company was able to raise $64 million in 2015, most of that was sunk into manufacturing costs, sources told FORBES.

Multiple people blamed the 3D Robotics’ bold projection for Solo’s failure, including one former employee who said that the fatal mistake was in basing predictions off of “sell in” versus “sell through” figures. The company forecasted Solo sales erroneously based on the inventory it was distributing to retail channels like Best Buy–a poor indicator of consumer demand because retailers can send back unsold inventory–and not on the number of devices actually purchased by customers from those stores.

 

[MavicMo]

I love un-named sources; "...according to one employee...", "...said another person...", "...multiple people blamed...", and "..including one former employee..."

There isn't ONE named source in that article you quoted. Without a named source the article is nothing but PURE speculation...

Yep, if they get exponentially better like the Mavic over the P4, then it'll be a must-have remortgage the house item

To quote Forbes.. Behind The Crash Of 3D Robotics, North America's Most Promising Drone Company
Still, 3D Robotics executives remained bullish on Solo’s potential, forecasting huge sales for the holiday season. According to one employee, CFO John Rex and Anderson, who had already committed to make 60,000 of the quadcopters with contract manufacturer PCH International, decided in mid-June with less than a month of sales data that an additional 40,000 devices should be built. That represented a significant commitment, said another person who helped engineer Solo, because each drone and its gimbal cost more than $750 to manufacture and ship to retailers. Though the company was able to raise $64 million in 2015, most of that was sunk into manufacturing costs, sources told FORBES.

Multiple people blamed the 3D Robotics’ bold projection for Solo’s failure, including one former employee who said that the fatal mistake was in basing predictions off of “sell in” versus “sell through” figures. The company forecasted Solo sales erroneously based on the inventory it was distributing to retail channels like Best Buy–a poor indicator of consumer demand because retailers can send back unsold inventory–and not on the number of devices actually purchased by customers from those stores.