> What are some of the misconceptions that make it so different? "I need iron plates but there aren't any available" just feels so intuitively like a supply cha

> What are some of the misconceptions that make it so different? "I need iron plates but there aren't any available" just feels so intuitively like a supply chain problem, I'd love to learn how the real world is so much more complicated. It's definitely a supply chain problem, but the way it is solved in Factorio (i.e. build a mine and a conveyor belt) is different to the way it is solved in reality (create a spec for the iron plate, a procurement process, contract negotiations, raising purchase orders, organising freight, managing compliance, all of which may be split across different teams). Then the iron plate company probably has the same thing to do for the iron - they probably don't own the mines where the iron ore comes from, so they also have to procure, contract, raise PO's, organise freight e.t.c. So in reality, SCM is usually more about managing all those relationships and contracts rather than getting involved in end-to-end optimisation (which is sometimes done, but the details are the responsibility of another company - i.e. if a car company needs more bolts, they don't get involved in considering where a mine needs to be opened).