[Knockman]

Again, fascinating to read and to then compare to previous years reports. I feel like I could comment on so many aspects, despite only really having a singular passion on Ogre stuff, but instead I'll limit myself to two aspects.

1. Global market.
I know Mr Reed has been kind enough to provide insight before, on the economic difficulties of getting your product out of the USA. There's even been recommendations on non-USA customers seeking out 'other fulfilment methods'. It is indeed a right royal pain, as I know a fair bit about international trade and the current trends and constraints being experienced by many US producers. But other US games producers seem to be less affected than you. I know the likes of FFG are major players now with considerable weight, but perhaps someone like GMT might have some handy pointers you could tease out of them?

I ask UK-based games sellers about SJG product and nearly every time they won't have it in stock. And so you resort to a certain global seller (that infamous South American river) and it's available, it's cheap in price and shipping costs, and there's a really fast delivery time. I accept you won't ever be able to compete against that. But is there any way you can take advantage of it?

There is no quick fix, but I have to say that the latest developments on the recent Ogre KS project (OM Set 2) where non-USA customers were dissuaded from participating was disappointing. (And what was the Battle Box Rules PDF??! As a non-backer, what was that all about?) To me, that sent out the wrong kind of message - and I know I wasn't the only one to feel that way. I don't really want to see you continue down that route, as I suspect it could lose you fans and future purchases. But, it's fair to say that you are not yet in a position to tackle this in the long-term, which is worrying, but it does then lead me to the second aspect.

2. Company Processes & Operations.
There were various comments in the 2016 report that touched on similar concerns. It seems from this latest report there are internal pressures making the situation worse. For instance, last year's report mentioned the new marketing set-up and that you needed closers, and that procedures are out-of-date and incomplete. And now, from the 2017 report, you're straying from schedules, missing deadlines for completion, too much time seems to be spent micro-managing, as you still don't have the right protocols for your staff to refer too, so valuable time is lost with higher management chasing up the basics.

It's not hard to see where this is going. You have a good grasp on what needs fixing and how to go about that, but instead, you're spending valuable time in fire-fighting and spot-mopping. Failure to address the root causes only means the current issues will continue to hinder progress, maybe even derail you at some point. And I would suggest that you probably need an outsider to shake-and-bake the operations manual. That may be radical, but new eyes often provide fresh perspectives and crucial objectivity that then lays down a far better foundation for your business.

So I'd say that better business operations really should be in that list of 2018 priorities.

Is it time for some tough prioritisation, in order to park some things, so the house can be put back in order maybe?