Supply Chain & Sourcing

China sourcing remains viable and profitable post-COVID, but success requires ditching middlemen for direct factory relationships. John Kyle Beaton reveals how to cut costs by 20-40% whilst maintaining ethical standards through proper IP protection, factory audits, and cultural communication strategies. The key insight: transparency and ethics often reduce costs rather than increase them when you build genuine partnerships with manufacturers.

Discover how marketplace giants like Amazon achieve monopoly status and what eCommerce businesses can do to fight back. Shirish Nadkarni reveals the scrappy tactics that built DoorDash and Airbnb, why Amazon takes 50% of many transactions, and strategic approaches for reducing platform dependence. Learn about managed marketplaces, geographic arbitrage, and the LTV:CAC ratios needed to compete against modern monopolies.

Sebastian Herz reveals how global sourcing strategies can save eCommerce businesses millions whilst building premium brands. Learn his proven framework for finding quality suppliers worldwide, escaping the China-only trap, and avoiding the race to the bottom through strategic product differentiation and niche targeting that commands higher prices.

One supplier policy change cost Matt Edmundson £38 million in lost sales, nearly destroying his eCommerce business. This episode reveals how over-reliance on key suppliers creates catastrophic risk, why the shift to direct-to-consumer models threatens traditional retailers, and the practical framework for building supplier relationships that withstand market changes. Learn the hard-won lessons from someone who survived supplier disruption—so you don't have to learn them the expensive way.