The Cost of Complexity You Can't See (Profitability)

Every SKU, every custom order, every one-off exception has a tax. It doesn't show up on the P&L as a line item — it hides in overhead, setup time, and the meetings nobody counts.

Find it by asking of your smallest 30% of products:

1. What revenue do they actually generate?

2. What would we free up if half of them disappeared?

3. Who is the one customer keeping each alive?

Simplify is a lever, not a cleanup project. The companies that win prune deliberately while their competitors add complexity by accident.

What percentage of your SKUs drive the bottom 5% of revenue?