Supply Chain Moves (Official Move Supply Chain Podcast)

Move Supply Chain
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Supply Chain Moves gives DTC operators practical, no-fluff guidance, from product idea to on-time delivery, built on real numbers. Host Lara Guevara (CEO and Co-Founder, Move Supply Chain) turns vendor visits, factory audits, and live routing simulations into Monday-ready playbooks. This podcast also gives you ideas on how to have smarter China/Vietnam sourcing, logistics you can run on purpose, and tariff strategies that protect your margin. This one's for founders, COOs, and ops leads who want fewer surprises and better results. Subscribe now and listen to them all.

  1. 22H AGO

    44 | The One With the Hardest Decision You’ll Make This Year: Kill, Fix, or Scale

    Last week, a founder showed me her numbers for the first time. Forty-three SKUs.Eleven were clearly profitable.Eight were clearly losing money.And twenty-four were stuck in the gray zone. Her question was simple:What do I actually do with this? Because knowing your numbers is only half the battle. The real challenge is deciding what to kill, what to fix, and what to scale. And most founders freeze when it’s time to make that call. In this episode, I walk you through the Kill-Fix-Scale framework. The exact system I use to help founders make clear, confident product decisions without guessing, hoping, or relying on gut instinct. You’ll learn:• How to categorize every product using contribution margin thresholds• Why products under 15% margin quietly destroy your growth• The five levers that can move a product from barely profitable to scalable• How to liquidate underperforming products cleanly and strategically• Why the best founders kill products faster, not slower• How to escape the gray zone where most businesses get stuck This isn’t about cutting products randomly. It’s about reallocating your time, cash, and energy toward what actually builds profit. Because every product in your catalog is doing one of three things: building your business, draining it, or distracting you. Your job is to decide which is which. If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chain⁠SC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    17 min

  2. FEB 10

    43 | The One With the Invoice That Made a Founder Cry: A Line by Line Unit Economics Breakdown

    She thought she had a 72 percent gross margin best seller.Two years later, it was barely breaking even. In this episode, Lara walks through the exact invoice and data set that stopped a fast-growing DTC founder in her tracks. What looked wildly profitable on paper collapsed to an 8 percent contribution margin once every hidden cost was accounted for. You’ll hear a full, line by line teardown of real unit economics, including the eight costs most founders underestimate, miscalculate, or completely ignore between the supplier invoice and actual profit. Freight, duties, fulfillment, shipping, returns, customer service, CAC and more. This is the math that turns “hero products” into silent cash drains. And it’s the framework Lara uses to help brands stop scaling busy businesses and start building profitable ones. By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly where to find these numbers in your own systems and how to build a unit economics spreadsheet that tells the truth about every SKU you sell. If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chainSC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    17 min

  3. FEB 3

    42 | The One With the Margin Lie: Why Your 65% Gross Margin Might Actually Be 12%

    Most founders know their gross margin by heart. Sixty-five percent. Seventy percent. A number that sounds healthy and investor-ready. In this episode of Supply Chain Moves, Lara explains why that number is often lying to you. Gross margin only tells you what it costs to make a product. It says nothing about what it actually costs to sell it, ship it, return it, and acquire a customer for it. And at the $500K–$3M stage, that blind spot quietly destroys otherwise great brands. You will hear real examples of DTC founders scaling their “best sellers” straight into losses, including a hero SKU with a beautiful 68% gross margin and a negative contribution margin once the real costs were counted. By the end of this episode, you will know exactly how to calculate the one margin number that actually matters and how to use it to make better decisions across marketing, inventory, and product strategy. In this episode, we cover: Why gross margin is a vanity metric at the growth stageThe difference between gross margin and contribution margin by SKUA real example of a best-selling product losing money on every saleThe seven costs most founders forget to include in their margin mathWhy your “hero product” might actually be your biggest problemHow to build a simple contribution margin calculator in a spreadsheetWhat to do with products that have low or negative contribution marginHow to realign marketing, finance, and supply chain around one shared number Key takeaway: Gross margin is for pitch decks. Contribution margin is for survival. If you are making decisions based on gross margin alone, you are flying blind. Action step: This week, calculate contribution margin for your top five SKUs. Just five. The results will probably surprise you and tell you exactly what needs to change next. If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chainSC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    16 min

  4. JAN 27

    41 | The One With a Real Supplier Scorecard, Not Guesswork

    “They seem fine” is not a supplier strategy. In the final episode of Supplier Power Month, Lara introduces the Supplier Scorecard, the system that turns vendor management from gut feel into data-backed decisions. If you’ve ever struggled to explain why inventory feels chaotic, margins are slipping, or suppliers keep disappointing you without anything “major” going wrong, this episode is for you. Lara breaks down the five metrics every DTC brand must track to understand supplier performance clearly, including exact formulas, realistic targets, and a Red, Yellow, Green framework that tells you when to invest, when to fix, and when to walk away. This episode goes beyond theory. You’ll hear real examples of how “fine” suppliers quietly cost brands tens of thousands of dollars, and you’ll get scripts you can use to have direct, professional conversations without damaging the relationship. In this episode, you’ll learn: The five Supplier Scorecard metrics that actually matterHow to calculate on-time delivery, defect rates, and true costWhy unit price alone is a misleading metricHow to use Red, Yellow, Green zones to make decisions without emotionScripts for introducing scorecards and addressing performance issuesHow to exit a supplier relationship without burning bridges By the end of the episode, you’ll have a scorecard template you can implement this week, not next quarter, and a clear system for managing suppliers like a real operator, not a hopeful one. This episode ties together everything from Supplier Power Month, from ranking and repositioning to negotiation and long-term leverage. If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chainSC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    17 min

  5. JAN 20

    40 | The One With the Supplier Agreement That Saves You $50,000

    Most DTC founders think supplier agreements are overkill. Until they’re staring at a warehouse full of unusable inventory and a supplier saying, “This is what you approved.” In this episode of Supply Chain Moves, Lara breaks down a real story of a $50,000 mistake that almost killed a growing skincare brand and exactly how it could have been prevented with one simple document. You’ll learn why trust alone is not a supply chain strategy and how vague specs, missing quality standards, and verbal agreements quietly destroy cash flow. Lara walks you through the eight non-negotiable sections every supplier agreement must include, using plain English and copy-paste language you can actually use this week. This is not a legal lecture or a 100-page contract. It’s a practical playbook designed for DTC founders who want clarity, leverage, and protection without slowing down growth. In this episode, you’ll learn: The real reason good supplier relationships still blow upThe eight sections every supplier agreement must includeHow to define quality so defects don’t become your problemHow unclear terms quietly drain cash flowRed flags that tell you a supplier is not worth the riskHow to introduce a written agreement without damaging the relationship If you’ve ever relied on WeChat messages, emails, or “we’ve always done it this way,” this episode is for you. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to draft a simple supplier agreement that protects your margins, your sanity, and your business before the next shipment goes wrong. If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chainSC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    25 min

  6. JAN 15

    39 | The One With the 7 Supplier Negotiation Levers Most DTC Founders Miss

    Most DTC founders think supplier negotiation starts and ends with price. It doesn’t. In this episode, Lara breaks down the seven things you can actually negotiate with suppliers, why price is often the weakest lever, and how to frame your asks so suppliers want to say yes instead of quietly deprioritizing you. This is a tactical, no-fluff playbook you can use on your very next PO. What you’ll learn in this episode: Why negotiating on price alone leaves money on the tableThe 7 supplier terms you can negotiate (and which matter most)Simple scripts that get better terms without damaging relationshipsHow suppliers actually think about your asksWhen to push, when to accept, and how Finance changes the game If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chain⁠SC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    18 min

  7. JAN 13

    38 | The One With the Supplier Ranking You’ve Never Seen (And Why It’s Costing You)

    Episode Summary Most DTC founders assume that being the customer automatically gives them leverage with suppliers. In this episode of Supply Chain Moves, Omar breaks down why that belief quietly costs brands money, time, and sanity. Suppliers rank their customers, even if they never tell you. That invisible ranking determines who gets prioritized when capacity is tight, delays hit, or problems arise. Drawing from real-world experience working with DTC brands, this episode unpacks the five factors suppliers actually care about, the warning signs that reveal where you truly stand, and a case study of a $3M brand that discovered their “bad supplier” was simply reacting to their behavior. You’ll also hear why finance decisions, especially payment timing, play a much bigger role in supplier relationships than most founders realize. Key Topics Covered Supplier prioritization and invisible account rankingVolume consistency versus large but erratic ordersPayment reliability and its downstream impact on operationsOperational ease and why suppliers remember frictionGrowth trajectory and long-term supplier thinkingRelationship history and earned flexibilityThe finance and supply chain connection most brands miss Who This Episode Is For DTC and ecommerce founders frustrated by missed deadlines, slow replies, or inconsistent qualityBrand operators who feel “stuck” with a supplier but are not sure if switching is the right moveFounders who assume supplier issues are caused by size or lack of leverageFinance and operations leaders responsible for cash flow, payments, and supplier relationshipsGrowing brands that want better treatment from suppliers without constantly renegotiating price If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chain⁠SC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    10 min

  8. JAN 6

    37 | The One With the 2025 Sourcing Wake-Up Call and the Optionality Playbook for 2026

    Episode Summary In this episode, Omar, Growth Partner at Move and sourcing specialist, breaks down what 2025 actually did to sourcing and inventory for DTC brands and why the cost of being wrong quietly skyrocketed. If 2025 exposed anything, it was how fragile most sourcing setups really were. Tariffs, trade friction, timing issues, and shrinking reaction windows forced founders to confront a hard truth. Sourcing is no longer a one-time purchasing decision. It is a core business model decision. This episode is a founder-friendly, no-fluff wrap-up of the biggest lessons from 2025 and a practical playbook for building optionality in 2026 so you are not trapped when things shift again. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why 2025 made supply chain lag painfully visible for DTC brandsThe hidden costs founders felt but rarely modeled, including decision lag, quality tax, cash timing tax, and switching taxWhat sourcing paralysis looks like and why “waiting for clarity” is still a decisionHow to shift from chasing certainty to building systems that work under uncertaintyThe Optionality Stack framework and how to actually build it without chaosHow inventory strategy needs to change based on demand confidenceWhere AI and tools actually help and where they do notA 7-day action plan to turn this episode into real operational progress Who This Episode Is For DTC founders navigating supplier risk and cost volatilityOperators managing inventory, sourcing, or cash flowEcommerce teams preparing for 2026 planningBrands that felt exposed by tariffs, delays, or forecasting misses in 2025 If this episode helped make your supply chain a little less painful, share it with another founder because nobody deserves to learn these lessons the hard way. Follow Supply Chain Moves wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Lara & Move Supply Chain Want to keep learning and connect with Lara and the Move Supply Chain community? Follow & Subscribe: ⁠LinkedIn – Move⁠⁠LinkedIn – Lara⁠⁠X – Move⁠⁠X – Lara⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠YouTube⁠ Get more insights: ⁠Unboxed Weekly⁠ – Lara’s newsletter on DTC supply chain moves⁠Lara’s AI Brain⁠ – Ask Lara’s AI anything about supply chain⁠SC Lounge⁠ – Join Move Supply Chain's free Slack community for DTC founders

    23 min
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About

Supply Chain Moves gives DTC operators practical, no-fluff guidance, from product idea to on-time delivery, built on real numbers. Host Lara Guevara (CEO and Co-Founder, Move Supply Chain) turns vendor visits, factory audits, and live routing simulations into Monday-ready playbooks. This podcast also gives you ideas on how to have smarter China/Vietnam sourcing, logistics you can run on purpose, and tariff strategies that protect your margin. This one's for founders, COOs, and ops leads who want fewer surprises and better results. Subscribe now and listen to them all.

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