When Selling Through a Dealer Backfires | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E141

When Selling Through a Dealer Backfires | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E141

From Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom by Henry Holsters and Pierson Workholding

April 6, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 141

About this episode

Jay discusses the implications of selling machines directly versus through dealers, along with insights on shop operations and efficiency.

Jay begins by talking about selling a machine, and when it's better to go direct versus using a dealer, with broader implications regarding alignment, control, and the hidden costs of outsourcing parts of your business. From there, the discussion shifts into shop operations: flow vs. batching, tool changes, and where efficiency actually comes from in real production environments. Jay and Andrew challenge common assumptions, showing how context matters: sometimes batching wins, sometimes ergonomics matter more than cycle time, and often the biggest gains come from reducing friction for the operator, not chasing theoretical efficiency. Plus: the perfect keyboard, how to get that most out of a conference or summit, and more.

People in this episode

Hosts: Henry Holsters, Pierson Workholding

Guests: Jay, Andrew

Topics covered

  • selling machines
  • dealer vs direct sales
  • shop operations
  • efficiency
  • batching
  • ergonomics

Keywords

  • dealer sales
  • direct sales
  • shop operations
  • efficiency
  • batching
  • ergonomics
  • production environments

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lean Built, Manufacturing Freedom

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