Even amongst a pandemic and a global chip shortage, Bobcat has been striving to deliver on time and in some instances, has even been able to deliver ahead of schedule. While early adopters were given an 8-12 week estimated lead time, shipments up to today have been able to send out closer to 8 weeks. Moving forward, however, these lead times will move closer to the 12 week lead time and beyond, which is a transition that in many ways had been anticipated and announced to customers who purchased miners toward the end of April.
A central principle to Bobcat's company culture is to avoid overpromising and in the spirit of that, we feel it is important to explain some of the factors that contributed to this shift in lead times.
Factory Moved from Wuhan to Shenzhen
Previously, packages had to be shipped from Wuhan to Shenzen before they could be shipped overseas. In changing factories, adjustments need to be made to supply chain logistics, workforce, production cycles, etc., but while this contributed to delays in the short term, we hope that it will ultimately improve logistics and expedite overseas shipping.
Large Spike in Orders Between the End of April and Early May
On 4/29, we made an announcement letting customers know that beginning on May 1st, our lead time estimate would change from 8-12 weeks to 12- 20 weeks. In the days that followed, we would experience a huge spike in orders that we now need to complete. Our fulfillment for these orders will be on the tail end of the lead time that was originally given to them. Presently, we do not have all the necessary information to determine the exact cutoff order number prior to 5/1 that will be impacted, but we will share updates as soon as they’re available. Please follow our twitter account and our blogs for the latest updates.
COVID Outbreak in Malaysia
Over the past few months, Malaysia has been adversely affected by a surge in COVID-19 cases. This affects manufacturing due to the shutting down of supply chains that are currently taking place. The effects of this will not only impact orders placed after 5/1, but also orders made leading up to this date. Nevertheless, we do not see this resulting in any alterations to the estimated 12-20 week lead time for these orders or any future orders.
Important FAQs
Q: I ordered a few days/hours before 5/1/2021. What’s going to happen to my order?
A: We will do our best to deliver these orders within 12 weeks, but we will not know for certain until we get closer to a shipping date. The reason for this being that we coordinate with our factory and supply chain every single week to check incoming components and our inventory level in order to ensure that the supply chain delivery cycle is not broken. As mentioned earlier though, COVID has affected the supply chain, which in turn affects our delivery date.
What we can say is moving to the Shenzhen factory will make logistics easier and ultimately help contribute to accelerating production and delivery. We will do our absolute best to get orders before 5/1 out of the door before 12 weeks.
We will continue to share updated information as it becomes available. We want to be very transparent with our customers so that they know exactly where they stand.
Q: If I Buy Now, Will You Deliver Closer to 12 or 20 Weeks?
A: With the information we currently have, we feel 20 week continues to be a reachable target and therefore it is what we can promise. Things can always change for the better but with ongoing issues related to COVID, it is difficult to tell. Additionally, if manufacturing sites reopen in South East Asia we will get supply chains fueled up quickly and shorten estimates, but if they remain shut down, we will not be able to change our 20 week estimate.
Q: What Batch is My Order In?
A: We understand how eager you are to receive your miner and we are working hard to fulfill all our orders. Announcements related to batches will be made regularly via Twitter, Instagram, and our newsletter. You can also find a history of all our shipping announcements at https://www.bobcatminer.com/shipping-update
Q: Why Have I Not Received My Tracking Number
A: Tracking information is not available until your miner is ready to ship. If you do not make the batch cutoff number listed here https://www.bobcatminer.com/shipping-update, you will not have a tracking number.
We announce the cutoff information 5 days before we ship the batch, and tracking information will be provided roughly 1 week after the batch announcement.
Q: Can I Change My Shipping Address?
A: To change a shipping address, you will need to email customer@bobcatminer.com. Please make sure you provide the name, order #, shipping address, and phone number associated with this order. You must submit this request using the original email address associated with this order. We will disregard all requests sent from an email address not associated to the order.
While we will try our best to accommodate this request, we cannot guarantee it will be met, as it is up to our operations team to determine if this change is feasible.