Field Notes: Articles

Ideas worth building on

Thinking on operational software, AI systems, and the craft of building complex products.

Manufacturing operations data showing margin leakage across disconnected systems
July 27, 2026
Why Manufacturers Lose Margins in Plain Sight

Margin erosion happens in the gaps between systems. Hidden shipping costs, material fluctuations, and untracked operational bloat eat into profits. Here's how to see it - and stop it.

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Manufacturing production floor with AI-powered scheduling dashboard showing real-time job optimization and resource allocation
July 23, 2026
AI-Powered Production Scheduling: How Real-Time Optimization Eliminates Manufacturing Bottlenecks

Manufacturing scheduling leaves millions on the table. AI agents that optimize job sequencing, capacity planning, and resource allocation in real-time. How to build systems that compete with manual expertise.

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Manufacturing operations team managing spreadsheets and manual processes - showing complexity and bottlenecks
July 20, 2026
The Hidden Tax of Spreadsheet Creep: When Spreadsheets Become Your Ceiling

Your spreadsheet system works - until growth forces you to choose between scaling operations or staying stuck. Here's what spreadsheet creep actually costs you.

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Manufacturing operations team analyzing real-time production metrics and KPI dashboard
July 16, 2026
The Data Insight Gap: Why Your Manufacturing System Sees Everything But You See Nothing

Your ERP has the data. But transforming it into actionable business intelligence takes manual work. How manufacturers close the insight gap and decide faster.

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Manufacturing operations manager analyzing failed software implementation with visible processes and workflows
July 13, 2026
Why Custom Manufacturing Software Projects Fail (And How Jetpack Builds Differently)

Most custom software projects in manufacturing fail because they start wrong. Here's why they derail - and how to structure an engagement that actually succeeds.

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Manufacturing operations director calculating ROI and business impact analysis for operational software investment
July 9, 2026
Beyond 'We Need Better Visibility': How to Calculate Custom Software ROI in Manufacturing

Most manufacturing operations leaders feel the pain of bad software but can't justify fixing it. Here's the framework for translating operational pain into investment ROI.

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Manufacturing operations dashboard showing real-time demand, capacity, and delivery timeline coordination
July 6, 2026
The Demand-to-Delivery Visibility Gap - Why Manufacturers Lose Margins When Their Systems Can't Talk

Real-time visibility across demand, capacity, and delivery timelines isn't a nice-to-have - it's what separates profitable manufacturers from margin-bleeding ones.

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Manufacturing operations leader reviewing operational software options - custom development vs commercial platforms side by side
July 2, 2026
The Cost of the Wrong Software Choice: How to Evaluate Custom vs Off-the-Shelf

Off-the-shelf software fails manufacturing because it wasn't built for your operation. Here's how to decide what actually fits.

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Complex network of disconnected systems struggling to communicate
June 29, 2026
Integration Debt: Why Your Systems Still Don't Talk to Each Other

Every integration you've patched together becomes technical debt. Eventually, maintaining those connections costs more than the original problem ever did.

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Frustrated sales professional surrounded by spreadsheets and disconnected software systems
June 22, 2026
The Quoting Graveyard - Why Sales Admin Is Killing Your Margins

Sales teams spend hours on manual quoting when they should be selling. The result: lost deals, margin compression, and sales reps frustrated enough to consider other industries.

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Abstract digital artwork representing AI-assisted software development with code elements and neural network visualization on a dark background
June 21, 2026
Building a SaaS App with AI: What Actually Works in 2026

We built Meemo — a working SaaS app — in a weekend using Claude Code. Here's what AI handled well, where it needed oversight, and what the 2026 AI coding landscape actually looks like for startup founders.

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A modern software development environment with operational software dashboards and manufacturing insights
June 18, 2026
Why Internal Dev Teams Fail at Custom Operational Software (And What Actually Works)

Building operational software isn't just coding. Most internal teams lack the domain expertise and operational thinking that separates working software from software that actually gets adopted.

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