As I’ve shared over the last few weeks, I’m helping a friend scale his start-up. His company sells its own branded physical product. For the last few weeks, I’ve been learning how the product is manufactured and everything involved in getting it from an international manufacturer to US warehouses that ship orders to consumers.

I’m still learning, and the manufacturing relationships are evolving, but my takeaway so far is that the logistics involves more moving pieces than I first realized. There are various LTL carriers, customs, multiple warehouses, and, don’t forget, parcel companies like UPS. Unless someone is familiar with these types of companies, their head would spin trying to keep it all straight.

To me, it feels like a puzzle. You’re trying to get all the pieces to fit together. When things go smoothly and customers get the product when they expected it, you have a sense of accomplishment. But one hiccup can throw off the whole plan and send you into a reactionary mode, which isn’t fun for anyone.

I’m still learning, but I think there are lots of opportunities to streamline this for my friend and get his product to his customers faster and at less cost.