The Story of the Wandering Screw, by @jile.

At @jile, we realized that the world of hardware, once so simple, has become incredibly complicated in these globalized times.

So we decided to tell you, with a touch of humor, the true story of a wandering screw, drawn from our “worldwide” industrial experience of over twenty years.

Take your time to read it, in “slow story” mode, not “fast food.”

Let’s exaggerate a little and follow the journey of our wandering screw, freshly bought from the nearest hardware store, packed with a few friends in a blister that costs twenty times more than what it contains. It comes from a distant eastern country where it was made in a factory belonging to, or working for, a multinational company listed in London, Frankfurt, or Shanghai…

Our screw began its long journey across the oceans, locked inside a container, until it reached one of the great European ports, Rotterdam, Le Havre, or Hamburg.

Unloading. Storage.

There, a big truck picks it up (with its friends) and crosses at least three borders to deliver it to one of the giant warehouses of “LaVis Corporation Ltd.”

Another unloading, another storage, before a smaller truck comes to take it again (with more friends, but not all of them) to cross one or two more European borders toward the national warehouse of our beautiful country: “LaVis France S.A.” (Let’s not exaggerate, it’s not always the same borders each time.)

Unloading again, repackaged into smaller boxes, labeled with the LaVis code, and stored once more. For the unlucky screws that don’t find a buyer quickly, their monotonous existence will go from counting to recounting during endless inventories…

The lucky ones take another (medium-sized) truck that brings them to the Screw Funfair, also known as the Contract Packer.

Unloading again, unwrapping, and many spins on conveyor belts, vibrating bowls, and packing machines. Zzz, click, clack, pshhh…

And here’s our screw, trapped in its beautiful but suffocating blister in the colors of LaVisrama or BoulonMarché, with only a few close friends left. The others are right next door, wearing the same bright outfits, in the same box.

Storage.

Then comes another truck (usually a big one) that will take it somewhere in France, to the central warehouse of a hardware distributor.

Fifth unloading. Fifth storage.

At that moment, Prince Charming appears in the form of a computer move: the computer of a shop in Tristounet-sur-Mer (at the other end of France) has learned from the checkout that there are almost no screws of this type left on the shelves! Quickly, it checks with the central warehouse to see if this rare species is still available. It is!

Without delay, a fast van drives to Tristounet-sur-Mer to pick up the long-awaited screw.

Sixth unloading, inspection, and finally… our screw sees the light again! In a bright, warm place, with permanent background “music” (which screws actually don’t mind).

The wait won’t be long before our screw begins its DIY mission, after one final scan at the checkout.

It’s a bit complicated, isn’t it?

Also quite expensive, especially for the carbon footprint.

Frankly, it seemed a bit old-fashioned to us; something from the late 20th or early 21st century, not very agile.

That’s why @jile decided to make it simple: we buy directly from manufacturers in Rhône-Alpes, Île-de-France, or Germany, almost straight off the machines, in bulk.

We store everything here in Schiltigheim (next to Strasbourg, pronounced “Shiltiguaïm”), still in bulk.

When you need 5, or 23, or 225 screws, we slip them into a nice orange kraft paper bag, and off it goes, to the Post! In just a few days, our little screw arrives directly at your door.

In Limousin or Provence, but also in Austria, the Channel Islands, or even Hong Kong...

There are a few secrets, but shhh…

That said, we still like hardware stores, this story was just a way of asking: why make it complicated when you can make it simple?

We’ve been based in Alsace since 2012, right at the crossroads of Europe.

We mainly work with plastic screws (otherwise, how could we deliver steel screws all over the world?), but we do many other things too, all to be discovered on our website: www.ajile.biz

You can also find us on Amazon or eBay in many countries.

Want to exchange, ask questions, suggest ideas, or collaborate?

We’re always keeping an eye on contact@ajile.biz

You’ll see, soon you’ll be as @jile as we are.

The @jile-makers of the web.