Unlocking Supply Chain Secrets: Insights from EAV Partners CEO Eric Adams
Join re:COGs Host Mike Gelb for an Engaging Chat with Eric Adams, Founder and CEO of EAV Partners, to Gain Essential Insights on Operational Excellence
Eric Adams, founder and CEO of EAV Partners, joins re:COGs host Mike Gelb for an enlightening exploration of operational excellence in manufacturing. Eric shares his supply chain optimization philosophy, offering entrepreneurs advice and strategies to drive growth.
From Family Bakery to Billion-Dollar Exit
The journey begins with Eric’s early experience managing distribution for his family’s bakery business, which sparked his passion for operations. He later honed his financial skills in investment banking before joining Dollar Shave Club during its infancy.
Mastering Subscription Models and Inventory Optimization
Tasked with constructing Dollar Shave Club’s supply chain from the ground up, Eric continuously improved processes and slashed shipping costs. His optimizations helped propel their meteoric billion-dollar rise. Eric emphasizes predicting customer behavior when managing subscription model inventory and monitoring sell-through rates diligently to avoid excess stock.
Navigating Supply Chain Pitfalls
Sourcing offshore brings opportunities and roadblocks. Eric details supply chain trials like inheriting opaque supplier relationships and requiring extensive RFPs. He also reveals the limitations of FBA compared to direct fulfillment.
Achieving Sustainable Growth and Profitability
Eric focuses on aligning growth and profitability by balancing customer experience costs and gross margin. He advises establishing clear guardrails tied to positive unit economics, noting how VC emphasis has shifted toward profitability projections.
Eric generously shares his playbook, offering entrepreneurs a glimpse of what it takes to optimize operations and supply chain management. Tune in for an insightful glimpse into the mind of a business scaling mastermind!
Listen In:
- Listen In As Mike and Eric Discuss:
- Early experience managing family bakery distribution
- Joining Dollar Shave Club and building a supply chain from scratch
- Continuously improving processes and slashing shipping costs
- Designing custom packaging for major savings
- Forecasting subscription inventory based on customer cohorts
- Monitoring sell-through rates to avoid excess stock
- Facing challenges acquiring brands with stale inventory
- Running RFPs to find competitive supply chain options
- Leveraging manufacturing for the biggest cost savings
- Navigating supplier relationships when they become competitors
- Recognizing limitations of FBA compared to direct fulfillment
- Balancing customer experience costs and profit optimization
- Establishing guardrails aligned with positive unit economics
- Adapting to shifting VC focus toward profitability projections
Click Here for re:CASTs of the Entire re:COGs Series
Tune in for authentic conversations with founders and experts across CPG, food, fashion, and other industries and discover insights you can apply to tackle your own business challenges as you scale up operations.
ARE YOU A BRAND MERCHANT LOOKING TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
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Learn how to apply for vendor financing, and get help receiving purchase order financing. Manufactured helps customers in over 20 categories across 25 countries with product manufacturing and inventory financing.
