Conclusion – Resolved
Keep enough stock on hand – but how much is enough. Don’t rely on suppliers to come through if you are caught short.
Mouser did resolve the issue and release the order. But we will have a 4-5 day gap in production.
Not Always Quicker
Being a bit surprised by recent demand, I needed some PCB mount fuse holders for ongoing production. Having some on order but still 2-3 weeks out I started hunting for some fill in stock. I found some from Mouser in the US with DHL shipping, so should be here in 3-5 days – You would expect.
I have bought from Mouser in the past and get a bit from them through a local distributor; which takes a week if lucky. I probably used a “checkout as guest” rather than having to locate some secret account login. So I placed the order using a credit card and thought problem solved.
A couple of days later checking the order status using the link provided in the confirmation email, I found it to be “pending”. Clicking on that link reported that they were waiting on the manufacturer, even though their web site said in stock for immediate shipping. Crap Bugger Crap. So I emailed customer support and waited for a reply.
This is the reply:
Dear customer
Sorry for the inconvenience caused. It is our company policy to verify the billing address for every customer, so we have the responsibility to update the reference and this is our normal procedure.
Would you please kindly refer to the attached email and advise? Should you have any query please do feel free to contact me. thank you in advance for your kind understanding.
The reply had this attached email:
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for your order with Mouser Electronics! We would like to accurately set up your account so your future orders avoid delays in processing. In order to validate the credit card in regards to the billing and shipping address, please send us a copy of any identification means (Government identification, company registration certificate, business registration certificate, etc.). We want to make sure to take this extra precaution in order to protect our customers from any potential misuse of their credit card by a third party.
Should this not be a preferred option for you, the alternative is to prepay for the order. We can send the proforma invoice including bank details for processing a wire transfer. We appreciate your business and thank you for your time, patience, and understanding.
Best Regards,
I did not receive the attached email at the time of ordering. They mention accurately setting up my account and avoiding delays. Bloody Brilliant – my urgently needed parts haven’t even shipped when I was expecting them to be here in a day or two.
This is really annoying and very inconvenient, after I had put the effort in to find the parts and place the order, which should have prevented production delays.
Another thing: this is New Zealand, where we don’t have to carry government ID and register/license everything we do – well at least not yet. A drivers license is about all you need, and that gets checked a couple of times a year if you are a driver. Our Police are still reasonably friendly.
What to do
I managed to find a few compatible parts out of Element-14 that can be here in 5-6 days. I have a larger batch due in about 2 weeks, I should probably get some extra stock in. Again I learn that it is important to keep a good surplus stock of parts that are single sourced or often not ex-stock from our usual suppliers.