I disagree. When I pack my bags for a work trip, it feels like I’m packing every device under the sun into my bag. iPads can almost be used as MacBooks, but not quite. MacBooks don’t have touch or flexibility to fold back, so they’re not as nimble for flights. So as a result I need all the devices and their cables and their protective cases.

Like c’mon, merge them already.

Anyone that’s taken a Market Strategy course in business school knows this issue all too well. It’s very hard to predict the future and time + correct for demand, and once you fall out of sync it’s like a pendulum that swings wider and wider.

What most people don’t realize is how far in advance decisions for production volume are made and how greatly demand might vary (even there is no external factor like a pandemic) once those shipments hit retailers. The only guarantee is you’ll never get it right, it’s merely a question of how far off you’ll be and in what direction.

Paywall. Whose got the goods?