5 ms·

There's quite a good book I read a while ago about store-brand supply chains called Where the Underpants Come From [1]. It's a travelogue where the author trave

There's quite a good book I read a while ago about store-brand supply chains called Where the Underpants Come From [1]. It's a travelogue where the author travels through Asia tracing the entire logistical chain for a pair of underpants. It's a fun read and covers a lot of this stuff. > There's basically no persistence to what the SKU actually represents. I disagree. The SKU represents generic ankle socks. They're a commodity. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322867-where-underpants-come-from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322867-where-underpants...

wpietri 7y ago
What newnewpdro describes is definitely not a commoditized product. Real commodities have exacting standards. E.g., US grain standards: https://www.gipsa.usda.gov/fgis/usstandards.aspx https://www.gipsa.usda.gov/fgis/usstandards.aspx Or the standards on commodity exchanges, like Kansas City Hard Red Winter Wheat Futures, which come in 5,000 bushel lots and require a deliverable grade of "No. 2 at contract price with a maximum of 10 IDK per 100 grams; No. 1 at a 1 1/2-cent premium. Deliverable grades of HRW shall contain a minimum 11% protein level. However, protein levels of less than 11%, but equal to or greater than 10.5% are deliverable at a ten cent (10¢) discount to contract price. Protein levels of less than 10.5% are not deliverable." -- from https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/agricultural/files/fact-card-wheat.pdf https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/agricultural/files/fact-car... Real-world commodities have exacting standards precisely to prevent this kind of nonsense.