destroy the network difficulty with them before shipping them out
1) Manufacturer deploys xTH/s of customer-purchased hardware
2) Network difficulty destroyed
3) Manufacturer unplugs hardware to send to customers
4) Network difficulty un-destroyed
5) Customers deploy xTH/s of hardware
6) Network difficulty destroyed
7)

Or they unplug them one at a time and ship out like the Avalons did, without perturbing total difficulty increase much...