More delays are here for both customers and stores in North America as fulfillment issues have caused Games Workshop to ban stores from restocking new releases.
Some stores and hobbyists in North America will experience delays getting the new Orks and Custodes releases this week as Games Workshops’ fulfillment systems are experiencing issues with those orders. This is reportedly causing GW to ban restocks for these new releases from stores until they are able to resolve the situation.
Update: In response to this article, we have seen over a dozen Games Workshop invoices from stores across the North American Sales Region with “shipped-on dates” of April 18th and 19th and “invoice reprint dates” of the 25th and 26th. They all seem to have finally hit the UPS system and are tracking for delivery on May 1-3rd.
It is unclear whether stores will be allowed to re-order Ork and Custodes’ new releases this week, but all the stores we polled were extremely disappointed with the allocations of battleforces, with the North American stores additionally concerned with these shipping delays.
Games Workshop Warehouse Issues Causing Order Delays In North America
While we don’t know all the specifics, it looks like GW is having infrastructure issues again. Sadly, this is basically a three-fold issue for stores. First, they got hit with heavy allocations, and now some stores will not be getting their orders (with the new Custodes and Orks releases) on time. Finally, they can’t even place new restock orders for either of these factions’ new releases until things are fixed.
As of right now, there is no ETA on when this issue will be resolved, according to the stores that were notified of the situation.
We know GW has been trying to eliminate many legacy systems at the North American warehouse and improve efficiency overall. Still, as the biggest market for their products, it’s really unfortunate to see stores hit hard once again.
Some stores have reported that they have already gotten their orders (such as GW’s corporate stores themselves).
Other local game stores that pre-ordered these releases may not be receiving theirs on time or in the correct quantities, as some have also already reported to us.
The Systems Improvement Programme (SIP) & Looking Forward
These types of situations are ones GW is aware of and keen on improving if their CEO, Keven Roundtree, is to be believed.
He indicated the core of Games Workshop’s improvement efforts lies in the internal Systems Improvement Programme (SIP), an initiative to eliminate and replace outdated legacy systems. This program has been a focal point in recent financial reports, reflecting the company’s commitment to modernizing its technological infrastructure.
Rountree expressed optimism about signing off on the SIP in the 2023-24 half-year report, coupled with a two—to three-year investment in IT by 2024. Considering they say the systems have improved so much, let’s hope this means more products on shelves soon.
Moving Forward to New Age of Sigmar Edition Release
Let’s hope GW can turn this around and not only fix the issue with the pre-orders and delays but also get things on track for the rest of the regular orders. It’s been a rough time for local stores, so let’s hope GW can implement some better systems for them.
We understand how frustrating delays can be for both customers and stores, and we hope that GW can quickly resolve its warehouse issues in North America. Especially heading into a slow sales season, we hope the stores can get what they need and aren’t so heavily allocated moving forward towards the release of 4th Edition AoS.
What do you think about the heavy allocations and delays from Games Workshop lately?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
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About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
