Fat last mile = design for repairability
Fat first mile = design for replaceability
Fat middle mile = design for corruptability
Conversation
There is no such thing as a supply chain with no fat
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"lean" is just shorthand for "keep the fat as upstream as you can" which is a materiality restatement of things like the procrastination principle or principle of least commitment. Upstream fat = more macro leverage.
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Common misperception because corruption is most *visible* in the last mile, same as trash on street or homelessness. But both first and last mile fat lead to less corruption because the very visibility leads to negative feedback control loops.
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A bunch of minor grifting like repair people padding estimates or cutting corners leads quickly to reputation markets and other corrective responses. But a vast middle-man market full of invisible corruption is usually hard to govern.
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Similarly, "first mile" corruption tends to be hard to hide for too long. Eventually people realize when big capitalists are doing crony shennanigans with their politician buddies.
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Replying to
In general, where you put the fat is a function of a) where you expect the uncertainty and risk b) where you personally have a stake. A society where the risk profile and stake profile are mismatched will misallocate fat and fail.
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