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Good morning,
I’ve been wondering about which comes first. Does high sharpening volume or high order demand come first?
We have additional order volume potential that would likely overwhelm current supply. This is targeted in the early part of next year. The question is something like, “Do we let the orders come in and deal with delays or do we build supply and then turn on the order volume?” It’s likely a bit of both.
Bit #1
Commercial sharpening volume.
We’ve been tweaking our sharpening methods since we first set up our bench. It’s a little like optimizing a delivery network. One one hand we need the quality to be high. On the other hand, we need it to be fast.
While we’re happy with our results, they are slower than we’ll need at scale. We’ve found an option that cuts the time to sharpen aggressively while not compromising quality. The question now is if and when the lead time (60 days) and cost makes sense to get a new bench.
Bit #2
Scaling package printing and assembly.
In order to support volume increases we’re going to need to outsource the packaging and do so in quantity. We’re making these by hand while watching Netflix right now. The copy iteration frequency has reduced in recent weeks. It’s starting to seem like we could purchase some volume and have it not be a waste of money.
We’re in contact with a few printers and we’re looking at a number options. Looking forward to this point being more automated.
Bit #3
More people on the team.
As we look at travel needs in the first part of 2022 we’re also aware we’re going to need more people on the team. We have a few more candidates beyond our recent addition. We’ll be interviewing and training in the coming weeks.
Sum
This is a fun part. We have high prospect for high demand. We also have a way to support it mostly figured out. Now for designing and building the actual bridge between the two.
On Your Way
Thanks for reading along. The messy start of something is certainly where we are right now. However, clarity is coming.
What are you starting? What’s the mess you’re working to simplify?
Looking forward.