Supply Chain and Product Businesses

What this category covers

Physical products live or die on the journey from factory to customer — and the costs hide in the journey. This category covers landed cost, inventory risk, supplier concentration, and the working-capital reality of money tied up in boxes on the ocean.

Landed Cost and Freight

• Landed Cost
• Minimum Order Quantities
• Freight Economics
• Air versus Ocean Freight
• Import Duties
• Tariffs

Working With Suppliers

• Customs Brokers
• Incoterms
• Supplier Payment Terms
• Quality Control
• Supplier Diversification
• Domestic versus Overseas Manufacturing

Product Strategy

• Private Label Strategy
• White Label Strategy
• Product Differentiation
• Packaging
• Product Bundles
• Returns as Product Design

Inventory Discipline

• Demand Forecasting
• Safety Stock
• Reorder Points
• Stockouts
• Backorders
• Inventory Aging

Physical Product Traps

• Counterfeits
• Supplier Exclusivity
• Supplier Negotiation
• Single Unit versus Pallet Shipping
• Why Cheap Products Are Expensive Businesses
• Why Physical Products Fail While Selling

Related tools

• Inventory Turnover Calculator
• Marketplace Fee Calculator
• Landed Cost Calculator

Related case studies

• A DTC Brand That Grew Into a Cash Crunch
• An Importer Undone by Landed Cost

Related research

• Working Capital Patterns in Product Businesses
• Freight Rate Seasonality