CASE STUDIES
Orders we turned around, with the numbers
Client names are withheld under NDA. The products, the problems and the results are real, and so are the mistakes we made on the way — they are in the write-ups.
CASESThree detailed write-ups
METRICSBefore and after, measured
NDANames withheld
OUTDOOR FURNITURE · NETHERLANDS
Cut landed cost 23% on a four-container furniture order
23%
landed cost
4
suppliers consolidated
38 days
door to door
The challenge
A garden furniture brand was buying four SKUs through a Dutch trading company at a 30% premium, shipping FOB from three different ports and paying three sets of documentation and clearance fees.
What we did
We re-sourced three of the four SKUs to two factories in Foshan already running the same powder-coating line, kept the fourth supplier, and moved the whole programme to DDP with consolidation in Ningbo.
The result
Landed cost fell 23% at the same retail price. One shipment, one customs entry, one delivery appointment. The client now reorders twice a year on the same template.
DRINKWARE · UNITED STATES
Took a drinkware line from 4.1 to 4.7 stars
4.7★
average rating
0.6%
return rate
100%
leak tested
The challenge
An Amazon seller had a good product with a bad review profile: leaking lids and crushed retail boxes after FBA handling, driving a 6% return rate.
What we did
We introduced pre-shipment inspection to AQL 1.5, added a 100% leak test at the factory, redesigned the retail carton with a corrugated insert, and moved to FBA prep in China so cartons arrived compliant.
The result
Returns fell to 0.6%. The listing recovered to 4.7 stars over five months and the client added two SKUs on the same protocol.
INDUSTRIAL CASTINGS · AUSTRALIA
Removed a nine-week delay from a casting programme
9 wks
recovered
2
qualified foundries
1,400
units delivered
The challenge
A single-source foundry in Ningbo stopped production for a furnace rebuild two weeks before a 1,400-unit order was due, with no second source qualified.
What we did
We audited the incumbent, qualified a second foundry in Wenzhou against the same drawings, split the tooling across both, and moved 600 units to the new supplier within eleven days.
The result
The order shipped nine weeks earlier than the revised single-source plan. Both foundries remain qualified, and the client now runs dual sourcing as standard.
WHAT THESE HAVE IN COMMON
None of them were solved by a lower price
Every case above started with a structural problem: incentives, quality control, or a single point of failure. Price was the symptom, not the cause.
A second source
Dual sourcing removes the single point of failure that turns a factory problem into a missed season.
Inspection as a control
Withholding the balance until inspection passes changes the factory’s behaviour more than any contract clause.
Consolidation
One shipment instead of four removes cost and coordination risk at the same time.
Cost structure
We price the whole landed cost, so savings are measured where they actually land.
NEXT STEP
Tell us what you need. We will tell you what it costs.
Send one product link or a photo. Within five working days you get factory options, unit prices, tooling, lead time and a landed cost to your door.
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