22. Anthony Mellor, fractional COO: How complexity kills margin and what great brands do differently

Most founders think supply chain is a cost center. Anthony Meller thinks it's one of the biggest untapped growth levers in the business. As founder of OnFlair and a fractional COO, Anthony has spent years working inside growing product brands, helping businesses approaching £30 million in revenue simplify operations, improve cash flow, and uncover hidden profit in their supply chains. In this episode, host Peter Beckman sits down with Anthony to unpack why so many brands become trapped in reactive supply chains, why payment terms often matter more than product costs, and why "complexity kills margin" might be the most important lesson every founder needs to hear. From supplier relationships and inventory planning to delegation and operational leadership, this is a masterclass in scaling product businesses without creating chaos. Highlights 02:15 – The biggest mistake Anthony sees in growing brands: reactive supply chains 04:10 – The hidden margin sitting inside operations and supply chain 07:15 – How Anthony audits a business and uncovers profit leaks 10:45 – Can you run a £40M business from Excel? 13:05 – Why supplier relationships beat supplier negotiations 17:20 – Payment terms vs lower product costs: where the real value is 20:05 – "Complexity kills margin" and what founders get wrong about scaling 24:40 – Why adding more suppliers often creates more problems 28:15 – The first operations hire every growing brand should make 31:20 – How the best brands find and evaluate suppliers 35:10 – Why factory visits deliver the highest ROI in supply chain 38:00 – Far East vs nearshoring: Anthony's surprisingly honest take 41:30 – Why price isn't the most important factor when choosing suppliers 44:10 – Why founders struggle to fix operations even when they know it's broken 47:05 – What changes in the first 3, 6, and 12 months of operational optimization 50:40 – The case study: cutting suppliers in half while increasing profitability 55:15 – The most expensive mistake founders make when scaling 59:30 – One action every founder should take this week 01:01:10 – Anthony's number one Treyd Secret Produceras av More Than Words