[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

As far as I recall from interviews with Andy - they do not have that much time. (Memory could be fuzzy though).

I think I've heard the same from him and others at AndyMark.

Not to mention that there is probably a significant lead time on the initial orders they make to the manufacturer(s). Sure tons are probably made by said company every day, but those same tons are already sold to existing customers... hence why the manufacturer(s) probably can't just flip a switch and instantly have the additional output (i.e. supply) to meet AndyMark's needs (i.e. demand).

Industrial parts I understand are like that; the demand is usually somewhat inelastic (similar to why diesel prices don't fluctuate as much as gasoline) so the ability to change production quota reflects that; a sudden large demand isn't usually seen as likely enough to invest the additional resources to allow for it. Thus, since these wheels are (presumably) sourced by a wheel company or two, they're happy to sell AndyMark the components but the amount (either gross number of components or a given production rate) takes some time even if it's a part already in production.

Other food for thought: I remember in 2014 during Lunch With Andy that he always mentioned shipments coming in for the balls from Sportigo in a similar fashion to the shipments for pneumatic wheels/rhino plates/treads (only w/o the crazy shortages) which also seems to suggest AndyMark isn't given as much advance warning as many seem to think.