The Pareto Principle

Why 20% of the project takes 80% of your time.

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. Named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the population. This principle applies surprisingly well to hardware procurement and DIY projects.

The 80/20 Rule in Hardware Projects

When building something, whether it's a custom drawer system, a workbench, or an aluminum extrusion frame, you'll find that:

  • 80% of the parts cost 20% of the budget.

  • 80% of assembly time is spent on 20% of the fine-tuning, alignment and adjustment.

How this applies to your projects

Make designs with common items

Not all fasteners are created equal. A countersunk socket screw might look slightly better, but adds another variant to your project. Keep things simple! Choose your go-to types and sizes, and try to stick to it. If the connection is too fragile for an M4 screw, take an M6 instead of M5 if you already use M6 elsewhere. You're not in the automotive industry where every gram counts ;).

Optimize Inventory, Save money

Traditional stores want to offer 100% of the existing types of screws, so that every customer might find what they need. By covering 20% of the items, but 80% of applications, stores can drastically reduce inventory and overhead, and provide significant savings to customers. Let's say you're building something for indoors. You don't need a premium stainless steel bolt, but if a lean store can offer that for less than a steel bolt elsewhere, then what's the downside?

Applying Pareto to Your Next Build

1. Identify Your Critical Path Components

Before ordering, ask: "Which parts amount for 80% of the cost?

For a drawer cabinet build:

  • 👍Drawer slides (critical, nothing works without them)

  • 👎 Decorative handles (non-critical, can be added later)

  • 👎 Decorative screws (looks nice, is it worth the extra cost?

Order your critical 20% first and complete what is required for it to work. The remaining 80% can be done later or bought when you see a good deal.

2. Eliminate 80% of your time searching for those 20% products

Most hardware shopping involves:

  • 80% time searching confusing webshops or going from aisle to aisle in a big store deciphering tiny labels.

  • 20% time actually buying the items.

We reverse this with structured SKU naming (e.g., FS-ISO4762-A2-70-M4x16) and precise filtering. Search "M4 socket head cap screw 16mm stainless" and get exactly one result, the right one. No guessing. No irrelevant suggestions.

3. The Pareto Principle in Action: Real Example

Project: Custom aluminum extrusion workbench

Traditional approach (optimizing for bulk pricing):

  • Buy a bag of screws (100 pieces): CHF 45

  • Buy 100 T-nuts: CHF 30

  • Buy drawer slides in pairs of 4: CHF 120

  • Total: CHF 195 (80% unused inventory)

Pareto-optimized approach (optimizing for project completion):

  • Order exact screw quantities needed (32 pcs): CHF 4

  • Order exact T-nuts needed (16 pcs): CHF 6

  • Order 4 pairs of drawer slides: CHF 120

  • Total: CHF 130 (0% waste)

You spend less and complete 100% of the project. Those remaining 68 screws would be in your drawer for the next 30 years, never to be touched again!

Why Most Hardware Stores Get This Wrong

Big box retailers and traditional suppliers optimize for their business model, not yours:

  • They profit from bulk sales (selling you 80% more than you need)

  • They save warehousing costs with MOQs (minimum order quantities)

  • They design catalogs for professional contractors (who buy in volume)

This works if you're a contractor and building 50 work benches monthly. It fails completely for hobbyists, micro-manufacturers, and one-off projects.

The Verschraubt Difference

We optimize for your critical 80%:

Precision Discovery

Structured product data means 20% search time yields 100% accuracy. No wading through irrelevant results.

Flexible Quantities

Buy 1 piece, 36, or 100, your choice.

Core Products with fast Shipping

80% of orders contain core items shipped within 1 working day. The 20% specialty items ship within 7 days, still faster than most competitors.

That's the Pareto Principle applied to hardware, and that's why Verschraubt exists.

Built to last. Made by you.

Need exactly the right fasteners for your next project? Start with our precision catalog of screws, drawer slides, and extrusion components, all available in the exact quantities you need.