I'll try to shed some light on [delays they're having with getting product out]:
The 'distribution problems' are really 'manufacturing delays' that have occurred as a result of the great influx of new players that we've seen over the past year. So, as one poster summed it up earlier in the thread, the problem is a result of success. We know that no matter what the issue is, it's inconvenient for our players, and don't take that lightly and are doing everything we possibly can (within reason) to accelerate production and meet demand. It doesn't serve us at all to have unfulfilled customers and it's our goal to make sure everyone is satisfied as quickly as possible.

This isn't as easy as it sounds. Our miniatures are made by hand, as are all pewter hobby minis. A human being has to our molten metal into a mold, spin it, remove it, do a quality check and then send it on to packing. The bottle neck in our production pipeline comes from the limited number of human beings we have to do this. Our metal casters, I believe, are the best in the world. But it takes training and it takes a certain level of commitment to the craft that is difficult to find. Casting isn't something that just anyone to do -- maybe they could go through the motions, but speed and accuracy are huge factors here because if the person casting can't produce a certain level of quality product in a given amount of time, then they become a liability for the company. Finding these great people isn't easy, but we're constantly searching for new people to add to our staff.

The other side of this is that we have always been and will always be cautious not to over hire staff just so that we can push product out the door. As with any good organization, we care very much for everyone who is a part of our crew, and we never want to be in a situation where we must dismiss someone because their job has been made redundant. I take a great deal of personal pride in the fact that Privateer Press has never in its entire history had to lay anyone off because of financial considerations. While the rest of the world have been downsizing through the terrible economic crisis of the past few years, Privateer has retained every role. Most recently, we're even expanding. But we do this cautiously, and the truth is, right now demand on the product is simply outpacing our ability and willingness to increase staff. Some companies are happy to staff up, get a job done, and then cut people loose. That's not Privateer and it never will be, even if it means our customers, whom we care for very much, have to wait a little longer to get product.

There's some good news in all of this too:
First, the fulfillment issues aren't economically motivated. In other words, this isn't a sign of Privateer having financial problems. 2010 was our best year ever in the history of the company. It's also not an indication of a flagging industry. The game industry is healthy and strong and we know this because we're moving a lot of product through the same channels we always have.

Second, we have made a great deal of headway over the last couple months in fulfilling the orders. I keep tabs on production and where we're at and the report last week was that we had cut our restock orders down by more than half. Of course, we received a deluge of more orders last week as well, but we're making a lot of progress! :-) The progress has come from expanding our production with ore equipment as well as having located some great new staff and getting them trained up. Balancing this is tricky, as I explained, but confidence is high in production right now as they're seeing the light at the end of this tunnel of huge restock orders.

I can't say specifically what this means for any individuals wait on an order, but I did want to chime in and let anyone concerned know that this is our top priority right now, and that if anything, this difficulty in getting your hands on stock is an indication of the popularity and health of WARMACHINE and HORDES. The community is growing in leaps and bounds, and that more than anything is going to be what ensures the longevity of our favorite games into the future.

Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your support.

The bottle neck in our production pipeline comes from the limited number of human beings we have to do this.

BrookM wrote:"Limited number of human beings"

Talk about cold and soulless description of the employees. Why not go all the way and just call them "fleshbags that we have to pay for"

Wolfen wrote:

BrookM wrote:"Limited number of human beings"

Talk about cold and soulless description of the employees. Why not go all the way and just call them "fleshbags that we have to pay for"

Well, Somethings do not translate that good in the internet, but i really think you are misunderstanding the statement, sice, as far as i read the note, he is trying completely to avoid "firing" or "laying off people". I think the expression is misunderstood as it seems to me more "limited number of humans beings rather than machines"

my 2 cents

BrookM wrote:"Limited number of human beings"
Talk about cold and soulless description of the employees. Why not go all the way and just call them "fleshbags that we have to pay for"

As with any good organization, we care very much for everyone who is a part of our crew, and we never want to be in a situation where we must dismiss someone because their job has been made redundant. I take a great deal of personal pride in the fact that Privateer Press has never in its entire history had to lay anyone off because of financial considerations. While the rest of the world have been downsizing through the terrible economic crisis of the past few years, Privateer has retained every role. Most recently, we're even expanding. But we do this cautiously, and the truth is, right now demand on the product is simply outpacing our ability and willingness to increase staff. Some companies are happy to staff up, get a job done, and then cut people loose. That's not Privateer and it never will be, even if it means our customers, whom we care for very much, have to wait a little longer to get product.

2010 was our best year ever in the history of the company. It's also not an indication of a flagging industry.

Kroothawk wrote:

BrookM wrote:"Limited number of human beings"
Talk about cold and soulless description of the employees. Why not go all the way and just call them "fleshbags that we have to pay for"

Please read the whole text and mind the context: Privateer seems to be a very caring employer and their current problem is that they DON'T treat employees as fleshbags:

As with any good organization, we care very much for everyone who is a part of our crew, and we never want to be in a situation where we must dismiss someone because their job has been made redundant. I take a great deal of personal pride in the fact that Privateer Press has never in its entire history had to lay anyone off because of financial considerations. While the rest of the world have been downsizing through the terrible economic crisis of the past few years, Privateer has retained every role. Most recently, we're even expanding. But we do this cautiously, and the truth is, right now demand on the product is simply outpacing our ability and willingness to increase staff. Some companies are happy to staff up, get a job done, and then cut people loose. That's not Privateer and it never will be, even if it means our customers, whom we care for very much, have to wait a little longer to get product.

These mistakes can happen when you are busy selling your Elysians

BrookM wrote:"Limited number of human beings"

Talk about cold and soulless description of the employees. Why not go all the way and just call them "fleshbags that we have to pay for"

grizgrin wrote:so what you are saying is that was sar asm? cause i missed that. lol

CT GAMER wrote:

grizgrin wrote:so what you are saying is that was sar asm? cause i missed that. lol

IF 99.9% of readers take your "british humor" for trolling then perhaps it is time to rethink your posting style...

Ketara wrote:

Remember, communication problems can read two ways. Maybe you should rethink your reading style?

CT GAMER wrote:

Ketara wrote:

Remember, communication problems can read two ways. Maybe you should rethink your reading style?

I'll remember this defense the next time the mods harrass me about "trolling"...

Osbad wrote:

2010 was our best year ever in the history of the company. It's also not an indication of a flagging industry.

Interesting to compare this statement to the rather lacklustre financial results GW is churning out these days.

I know PP is approximately 1/10 the size of GW, but that gap won't take forever to close.

malfred wrote:

CT GAMER wrote:

Ketara wrote:

Remember, communication problems can read two ways. Maybe you should rethink your reading style?

I'll remember this defense the next time the mods harrass me about "trolling"...

I troll, I mean use dry humor, in GW threads all the time!

Seriously. It was a deadpan delivery on the worst of days.

BrookM wrote:I do wonder how big the PP rules studio is in comparison to GW's "five blokes and a kettle" approach.

Ouze wrote:"A human being has to our molten metal into a mold, spin it, remove it, do a quality check and then send it on to packing"

In my experience with PP models, they've been saving a lot of time on that second-to-last step.

Maybe they can do as Forge World does, and just cut it out completely. Forge World - Our Returns Department is Our QA Department!®

CT GAMER wrote:

Ketara wrote:

Remember, communication problems can read two ways. Maybe you should rethink your reading style?

I'll remember this defense the next time the mods harrass me about "trolling"...

warboss wrote:sillly privateer press! that's not how you deal with customers! if you want to grow as big as GW, you need to stop publishing heartfelt letters to your customers and switch to semiannual investor reports in which you blame your woes on random and/or contradictory factors... and then propose the same solution (raise prices!) while saying the forcast is rosey year after year of falling sales. duh!!