[lfowles]

> You can also get a feel for how many molds/stamps/etc that your competitor has in their factory by looking at the mold IDs.

Also known as the German Tank Problem[0]

Allied intelligence, trying to estimate the extent of Panzer production, used estimates based on serial numbers of various components in tanks that fell into their hands.

From Wikipedia: "Estimating production was not the only use of this serial number analysis. It was also used to understand German production more generally, including number of factories, relative importance of factories, length of supply chain (based on lag between production and use), changes in production, and use of resources such as rubber."

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_tank_problem