Avre Friday Briefing #22

When Suppliers Don't Deliver

The reality of small batch production. Well, this week was meant to be about finished Batch #2 samples and a photoshoot with the new smocks. Instead, we've spent it chasing suppliers, rearranging schedules and basically playing supply chain whack-a-mole. At the last minute, one of our suppliers pushed back delivery by two weeks. Not ideal when you've got photo studios and models booked. And UPS managed to lose a parcel containing the trims we needed to finish the samples. Because apparently one supply issue wasn't enough for the week.

The ripple effect. One delayed component means everything shifts. Models rebooked, photographer rescheduled, launch timeline pushed back. It's a reminder that when you're committed to using specific suppliers for quality reasons, you're also dependent on their schedules. We could source cheaper alternatives quickly, but that's not how we work.

Why we don't compromise. The trims and parts we're waiting for have been painstakingly sourced - they're the exact specification we need for the Reinvented variant. We could grab something off the shelf, but then it wouldn't be the jacket we've designed. Sometimes doing things properly means waiting.

What we're doing instead. While we wait, we've been working on Batch #3 which is by far the most complicated jacket we've attempted to-date. We've also been doing all the necessary but mundane back office work like figuring out how to correctly charge import tax, sales tax, duties and delivery for international orders. Yawn. Plus we've made some subtle changes to the website to easily support both live and archived batches.

Looking ahead. We're happy to say that the trims are now with the Studio. The other missing parts, however, are not and at this stage we don't have an ETA. We're on the case.

Not the most exciting update this week, but it's honest. Building something that lasts means accepting that some weeks are about patience rather than progress.