The High Cost of Zero Inventory!
"The most expensive inventory is the inventory you don't have when your customer places a major order. Inevitably, you customer will find another source for their immediate need and they will never forget that you were out of stock at a critical time for them."
Short, succinct and impactful, other contributors could learn from you William. Looks like the future is bright for warehousing. Not only do you need to hold the stock - it also needs to be quickly deliverable - which often translates to local / in-country inventory.
How very true this is, from a APAC supply chain perspective, a supplier running a regional distribution business / operation selling through a B2B channel network that continually nuns into stock-out issues inevitably opens the door to competitor suppliers. Meeting supply needs is a competitive advantage and usually yields higher selling margins.