The plan said 75 days for every supplier. The real range was 32 to 82.
166 purchase orders tracked to the SKU line. Once the receipts were measured instead of assumed, the spread was the finding, and that gap is the whole argument for measuring.
We measured how long each order actually took.
134 orders have arrived and closed. The median took 63 days against a plan that assumed 75 for everyone, on a lane that is 100 percent sea with no air option.
Orders, routes, and what re-ordering showed about price.
Two routes run out of the same factories, and both were measured separately.
Covering 77,230 units, placed through 18 Alibaba order numbers and 4 manual orders, each tracked to the SKU line.
Three nodes, China supplier to third-party warehouse to Amazon AWD and FBA, carrying 49,243 units, of which 17,820 units, 36.2 percent, moved straight to Amazon.
Supplier relationships, named down to the company, with measured lead times spread more than two to one between the fastest and the slowest.
SKUs re-ordered over time came in cheaper on the latest purchase order than on the first. One dropped from $1.33 a unit to $0.58.
Return to the Record for the rest of the book. The Record →
If every supplier has the same lead time in the plan, measure the receipts.
Bring the supplier who is always about two weeks away. We will compare the plan against the order history.