order fulfillment process?

Anyone know what process Lenovo uses for setting the sequence of fulfilling orders? In general it would seem that 1) they would be fulfilled in the order received and 2) orders with components that are delayed would obviously be held until their parts became available, and afterward should then return to their original spot in line. With Lenovo I understand there is an additional 3) If you change anything about your order, from tweaking the hardware or even changing the expiration date on the payment credit card, the order is bumped to the back of the line.

I'm curious about this because I placed an order for a T410s in mid-Feb, which had an "estimated shipping date" of 4/21. Meanwhile, my credit card expired in March with no shipment, so I had to update that, which supposedly was going to be the same delay as just placing a new order - so I canceled the original order in order and placed a new one, mainly out of fear that my other order was "stuck" or that the updated payment information wouldn't be noted and the order would get jammed up if and when they ever went to ship it. Placed the new order on 3/2, with an "estimated ship date" of 3/23. Finally, the new coupon deal came out which made it about $100 cheaper, which I configured and converted to a quote, with an "estimated ship date" of 3/19.

Obviously I never placed this order, so the ship date is irrelevant, but what this seems to tell me is either 1) new orders go first - because all of these configurations were exactly the same, and each new attempt resulted in a faster ship date while my original remained totally unchanged, or 2) the ship date is completely bogus, although it continues to be substantiated by them when I phone to confirm, which leads me back to #1...

I guess I just want my system to ship and have been given no real indication that it ever really will. The order status page doesn't change from the moment you place the order until it either ships (if ever) or you cancel it, in which case it is updated instantaneously. Part impatience, yes, but part frustration that "status" is a complete misnomer and nobody really knows what's going on with their orders. It's all magic?

 

Estimated ship dates are rather vague estimates - don't take them too serious.

CSR's have the same (lack of) information as the lenovo web page. They'll consistently give you the same estimated ship date as you can look up online.

The ordering system probably tries to pool orders into productions runs in the factory. They don't get processed in-order. In all likelyhood were just lucky and somebody cancelled right before you, opening a slot in an earlier (scheduled) production run.