Connor Blakley
CEO, Dropout Companies
THE CHALLENGE
Dropout Companies did what most food startups dream of: they launched an Uncrustables-style product and landed in every Walmart nationwide within months. The product was a hit. The operations? Hanging on by a thread.
Connor and his team had nailed manufacturing and distribution. But their material sourcing infrastructure was built for a regional brand, not a national powerhouse operating at Walmart velocity.
The cracks showed fast:
Reactive supplier relationships - no visibility beyond their initial vendor roster
Price blindness - they learned about cost increases when invoices arrived, weeks too late to adjust
No alternative sources mapped - if a supplier failed, production stopped
Manual quote coordination - Connor personally managed material procurement on top of running the company
Walmart doesn't wait - when velocity spiked, they had days to secure materials, not weeks
The product was moving. The team was executing. But the supply chain was one supplier failure away from disaster - and they had no early warning system for the cost fluctuations that could kill their margins overnight.
THE SOLUTION
Dropout Companies deployed Tenkara to build the supply chain intelligence their growth demanded:
Cost Intelligence Agent: Continuously monitored pricing across all material suppliers. When a key ingredient started trending up 20%, Tenkara flagged it three weeks before the price change hit - giving Dropout time to lock terms with their existing supplier and source alternatives.
Alternative Supplier Agent: Mapped and vetted backup sources for every critical material. What used to require weeks of manual outreach and vetting now ran automatically. When Dropout needed a second source fast, they had three qualified options ready to quote.
Quote Orchestration Agent: Reached multiple suppliers simultaneously whenever Dropout needed materials. Instead of Connor spending two days chasing quotes, Tenkara delivered competitive pricing from 5+ sources by end of day.
Compliance Tracking Agent: Validated certifications and food safety documentation automatically. At Walmart scale, one compliance miss could pull product from shelves nationwide. Tenkara ensured every supplier met standards before materials shipped.
Demand Surge Response: When Walmart velocity spiked unexpectedly, Tenkara's agents immediately reached backup suppliers with projected volume needs. Dropout secured materials in 48 hours instead of scrambling for a week.
STRATEGIC EXECUTION
Built supplier redundancy without adding procurement headcount
Turned reactive firefighting into proactive cost management
Gave Connor his time back to focus on growth, not vendor management
Created operational cushion that let them say "yes" to opportunities without supply chain panic
THE RESULTS
Since implementing Tenkara, Dropout Companies transformed their supply chain from a liability into a strategic advantage:
20% cost increase detected and neutralized - caught 3 weeks early, locked in better terms
3 products fully mapped with backup suppliers for every critical material
48-hour supplier pivot capability - when primary sources hit capacity, alternatives ready
Zero stockouts since launch despite 3x velocity spikes
15+ hours weekly saved - Connor's time redirected from procurement to brand building
Six months in, Dropout's primary peanut supplier notified them of a 20% price increase effective in three weeks. Pre-Tenkara, they would've absorbed it or scrambled to find alternatives with zero leverage.
Instead, Tenkara had already the notice flagged several weeks before it was officially recognized. By the time the notice came, Dropout had competitive options from four alternative suppliers and had their existing vendor down to an 8% increase by demonstrating they had options.
On their current volume, that 12% difference meant $180K saved annually.
Before Tenkara:
Connor spent Monday mornings checking inventory, realizing they were short on materials, emailing suppliers, waiting for responses, comparing quotes in spreadsheets by Thursday, placing orders Friday, hoping nothing went wrong.
After Tenkara:
Connor reviews a dashboard Monday morning showing current inventory, projected needs, pre-pulled quotes from multiple suppliers, and any cost trends flagged. Orders placed by 10am. Rest of week spent building the brand.
The team went from reactive procurement to proactive supply chain management. When Walmart asks if they can handle 2x volume with one week notice, the answer is confidently yes - because Tenkara already mapped the supplier capacity to make it happen.
Most critically, Dropout Companies built a competitive moat. In an industry where margins are thin and supply chain agility wins, they operate like a company 10x their size while maintaining the speed and scrappiness that got them into Walmart in the first place.
