Korg Forums

GregC wrote: In some countries, the independent distributor, chose not to plan, or chose to not take inventory risk, by not ordering larger quantities .

So if that distributor planned poorly, there won't be stock for that entire region? Or what if the distributor goes out of business, then no stock again for that region? I guess I don't understand the whole independent distributor model; it seems like it takes away Korg's ability to balance world-wide inventory levels according to supply and demand for each region.

madbeatzyo111 wrote:

GregC wrote: In some countries, the independent distributor, chose not to plan, or chose to not take inventory risk, by not ordering larger quantities .

So if that distributor planned poorly, there won't be stock for that entire region? Or what if the distributor goes out of business, then no stock again for that region? I guess I don't understand the whole independent distributor model; it seems like it takes away Korg's ability to balance world-wide inventory levels according to supply and demand for each region.

I have my own business and deal with inventory risk/sales/profit potential here in the US.

I doubt any business wants to fail per your 2nd question.

a business must always have a certain level of cash/capital and monthly net income to fund today's purchases and future purchases.
I reinvest all the net income right back in to grow further and future sales.

Yet, there is no guaranty that enough sales will take place and there is no guaranty that enough net income will be generated, thus the term inventory or business risk.

What the position is of independent distributors is only known to them.

I have made the comment here that one cannot expect everything to work out perfect all the time or even 99% of the time.

madbeatzyo111 wrote:

GregC wrote: In some countries, the independent distributor, chose not to plan, or chose to not take inventory risk, by not ordering larger quantities .

So if that distributor planned poorly, there won't be stock for that entire region? Or what if the distributor goes out of business, then no stock again for that region? I guess I don't understand the whole independent distributor model; it seems like it takes away Korg's ability to balance world-wide inventory levels according to supply and demand for each region.

For almost every store there are waiting lists (for the Kronos) ... sometimes one is cancelled (probably because people write in multiple waiting lists), but then it's mostly just a few days before it is sold. However, shops don't like stock (see previous message from GregC for clear reasons).

The result is that some are for months on a waiting list OR a few are very lucky to have such 'cancelled' synth. I heard there are 1 or 2 Kronos 88 available in the Netherlands tough, and I believe one K61 in Belgium. But you still can count the available Kronosses per country in Europe probably on one hand.

At laenenmusic.nl they received a new batch today.

Some time ago when I ordered my Kronos 61 there were several for sale (Kronos 61), at least 2 stores I know of. So probably directly after a batch is shipped the cancelled ordered make that some are available, possible for a short time. Then you have to wait for months again for the next batch.

To be honest, the long wait has just made me less excited about the Kronos. At this point I don't really care anymore when it gets there. It's like I maxed out on the new gear excitement before it even got here.

SanderXpander wrote:To be honest, the long wait has just made me less excited about the Kronos. At this point I don't really care anymore when it gets there. It's like I maxed out on the new gear excitement before it even got here.

I change out all my keys every 3-4 years due to new models.

As a result , I order just after NaMM, and typically wait 4-5 months from that date.

So waiting 8 months for my K88 was not a huge change.

This is exactly the effect of too big waiting times, and I have been through similar feelings in summer, when my extremely early German January preorder began to look like a November delivery.

Maybe Korg has not alternative for reasons we don't know.
But anyway, no present competition will hurt their own goals more than their own much too long delivery times. A bit of that is common with many new product launches, but the delivery delays of THIS product (just like those for it's editor), have clearly run out of proportion from my view, without any clue or recognizeable reason from the view of potential customers.

jimknopf wrote:This is exactly the effect of too big waiting times, and I have been through similar feelings in summer, when my extremely early German January preorder began to look like a November delivery.

Maybe Korg has not alternative for reasons we don't know.
But anyway, no present competition will hurt their own goals more than their own much too long delivery times. A bit of that is common with many new product launches, but the delivery delays of THIS product (just like those for it's editor), have clearly run out of proportion from my view, without any clue or recognizeable reason from the view of potential customers.

I think we have touched on this difficult topic of ' expectation'.

Obviously, in the US, ( and in Japan), these countries get the first quantities.

I vaguely recall the 61 was late June/July for the US. 73/88 was roughly 4 weeks later. I know that preorder backlog continued into August.

That June/July date in those 2 countries was not greatly out of bounds.
I sympathise with the Euro countries - have read the various circumstances leading to a greater wait time.

I can empathize with all of you still waiting. Until the Kronos, my waiting experience for keyboards never amounted to more than 15 minutes...for the sales person to go in the back and bring out the box.

So, since my wait time for my K61 was about 3 months, I can truly relate to all of you who have patiently waited and others of you who are still waiting. My wish is that all of you get your Kronos' soon.

I waited 4 months but passed on my K88 when it arrived due to the build issue quandry which I do not take lightly when laying down this kind of money -- Hopefully Korg will come to the front with some honest answers and definitive fixes, in the meantime it's just a waiting game and the 3plu$ grand will sit in the bank!

easy1 wrote:I waited 4 months but passed on my K88 when it arrived due to the build issue quandry which I do not take lightly when laying down this kind of money -- Hopefully Korg will come to the front with some honest answers and definitive fixes, in the meantime it's just a waiting game and the 3plu$ grand will sit in the bank!

It makes me sad to hear this since I truly believe the build quality issues were/are exaggerated. I'm on my 2nd K73 after damaging one in an automobile accident. Having opened up the first K73 to remove broken pieces, it seems very solidly put together.

Neither of my keybeds have exhibited the issues that some have had. I'm not saying that those issues aren't real. I'm sure they are and it's tough for those who have them. But I think they are a smaller percentage than many believe.

I don't recall if I've read your story, Easy 1. Did you actually take delivery of a K88 and return it because it has issues, or did you cancel the sale for fear it might have issues?

I will say that when my new 73 arrived, I immediately opened the box and played it to be sure it was a good one.

In comparison to Kronos, what was the situation with the M3 and Oasys?
and Triton?

If the answer to the above shows any significant availability of the others compared to kronos, then something is unique to their latest offering.
If it is primarily tsunami, I would think as an explanation, it would be reasonable and an acceptable answer.
Many manufacturing sectors and others were not shy or vague regarding this as it was common knowledge.
It may have had something to do with the present Kronos situation, but if true, it should have been very acceptable to accord any company the generous courtesy of their customers patience no doubt.
I don't think this is the issue. Nor do I think it is as simple as various dealers, distributors, etc., not ordering.
It appears to me to be a certain cautiousness from Korg.
Of course there are at present, as it might appear, a sure guarantee to sell out any units in any store. Retailers will have no problem selling units now, but for how long?
If there is any situation which might call attention to the eventual and or lasting sales potential, then a strategy is already in place because I'm not the only person who has become cautious.
Since I and others are skeptical, its possible that all the players in sales are aware of it, so I may over the top in my suspicion, but not completely.
It is very possible that Kronos may eventually be remembered as was the Oasys.
I HOPE this doesn't happen, but this is somewhat disappointing.

My company has problems with shipping from Japan as well. Not so because of manufacturing but because a lot of ship yards were seriously damaged. Yes a lot of product still comes by boat. Anyway the shippIng from Japan was real hurt and I would think this is a major factor for Korg.

Bertotti wrote:My company has problems with shipping from Japan as well. Not so because of manufacturing but because a lot of ship yards were seriously damaged. Yes a lot of product still comes by boat. Anyway the shippIng from Japan was real hurt and I would think this is a major factor for Korg.

I think you have provided a core business issue- a slow down in the supply chain in the speedy Internet age.

I have worked in Japan and for Japanese co's. My experience is that they work very hard and do not discuss these kinds of supply chain problems openly. They do not want to be perceived as making excuses.

I realize there has been a lot of finger pointing and dissatisfaction with korg due to defects. Some of this speculation might be appropriate and some simply may not be be entirely due to korg.

My experience with korg and other Japanese co's is they have integrity . That is not to say they are always 100% perfect. At the end of the day, I do trust they will always do the right thing for their customers. I think it is fair to state that it will not always happen at Internet speed. Thus, some patience is required, even while " all the data " is not available to all customers.

My advice to folks who are influenced by negative posts here, is to somehow hold a neutral position.