Blog Archive

January 22, 2026

I used to judge a supplier by the firmness of their handshake and the look in their eye when I asked about capacity. Those days are dead.

January 20, 2026

Firing a supplier is bomb disposal. Build a secret stockpile and steal your own data back before you ever send that termination email.

January 16, 2026

When the canal blocks, inventory is useless if it’s the wrong color. Survive by killing 80% of your SKUs and using standard “Lego” parts.

January 15, 2026

A camera filters out the truth. If you can’t smell the rancid coolant or feel the sticky floor, you are just watching a scripted movie.

January 14, 2026

Splitting volume makes you irrelevant to two factories. Marry one supplier deeply, but keep a secret “warm backup” just in case.

January 12, 2026

Litigation is for suckers. Real control comes from GPS trackers on molds and holding back the last 20% payment. Leverage beats law.

January 11, 2026

Tight tolerances are often just laziness. A custom screw costs 10x more and halts production. Force your designers to respect the catalog.

January 10, 2026

Signing a perfect prototype is a death sentence. You need a “Limit Sample”—the ugliest version you will accept—to survive mass production.