PROJECT KIKU -- SUPPLY-CHAIN ASSESSMENT
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 Class: COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
 From: Operations
 To: Corporate Development; Finance

 The supplier's current production route is precise but small.
 It depends on specialist staff, scheduled source availability,
 controlled transport, and uninterrupted cold-chain handling. None
 of these are individually unusual; together they make scale-up
 expensive and fragile.

 RISK POINTS
   - single geography
   - single technical team
   - limited inventory buffer
   - import documentation at every movement
   - loss of product value if cold chain fails
   - no second qualified site

 The Japanese team is credible and disciplined, but they are not
 set up for the Partner's volumes. Any acquisition case should
 include a substantial post-close manufacturing and quality budget.
 Without that investment, Project KIKU remains a boutique supply
 route rather than a programme supply route.

 Next: [FINANCE-COGS-COMPARATOR.TXT].