Behind The Tool: Aaron From Airbatch

Factory sourcing and quality control may not sound glamorous—but if you’ve ever tried to scale a physical product brand, you know the pain. The brutal communication barrier across continents and operational chaos is real.

That’s where Aaron Heap comes in. After spending 15 years deep in outsourced manufacturing for his own consumer product companies, Aaron built Airbatch, a platform that automates the most complex time consuming parts of sourcing and quality control—without the need for expensive software or a bloated team.

In this Behind The Tool spotlight, Aaron shares what sparked the idea, why factory relationships are everything, and why the future of supply chain software is free.

For those new to Airbatch—what exactly does your platform do?

Airbatch automates the work of sourcing factories and doing quality control during production.

When did you first realize this was a problem you had to solve?

It’s been a problem I’ve been slowly solving since the founding of my first product company. The work and flights back and forth from Asia to source new factories or manage production is brutal. I wanted the pain to go away, so I started building a solution.

What's a common misconception brands have about factory sourcing?

Underestimating the impact the factory you choose will have on your success. The top 1% of factories produce higher quality at a lower cost. On Airbatch, brands can now access this private network of top 1% of factories.

How did your personal experience prepare you to build Airbatch?

As a founder of multiple product companies, I’ve had the job of sourcing manager and quality engineer - The late night video calls, endless WeChat’s, messy xls docs and PDFs, 18 hour flights and living in a hotel by the factory.

What’s the “wow” moment when customers first use Airbatch?

When software completes your work and hands you back time each day, it feels like pure magic. Even for me as the founder, watching Airbatch automate factory sourcing and quality control still feels like magic.

What makes Airbatch stand out from other solutions in this space?

Our technical team has embedded AI into every aspect of the platform. Our premise for the technology was “Let’s not build a platform for customers to do work, but a platform that does the work for them.”

What’s one industry shift you think more brands should be paying attention to?

Tariffs and AI technology. Brands now work with factories in multiple countries to maintain margin. AI is enabling tiny teams to manage sourcing and quality control with enterprise level expertise.

What’s one lesson you had to learn the hard way while building this company?

The best software has evolved into a revenue source for brands, not an expense. The days of charging for a platform to do and store work are gone forever. The future of all supply chain software is free.

If you could rewind back to the very beginning, what would you do differently?

The top 1% of factories will become amazing partners. Like a top 1% VC, once you are a part of their portfolio, they will make sure you win.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Life is happening for you, not to you.