Case Study: Brake Caliper Supply for a supermarket chain in East Africa

Brake Caliper for A supermarket chain in East Africa

A supermarket chain came to us with a brake caliper programme for East Africa. The brief was ordinary and unforgiving at the same time: a fixed launch window, a landed cost that had to survive freight and duty, and a part that had to match an existing sample. This case records what was specified, what went wrong in sampling and how the bulk order landed.

The starting point

• Lead time that slipped twice before bulk started
• A specification nobody had written down
• A fitment that looked right on paper and failed on the bench

What was specified

How it was resolved

1. The specification was rebuilt around Carbon Steel and the tolerance locked before bulk.
2. A pre-production sample was approved and kept as the golden reference.
3. Production ran with in-line inspection and a mid-run photo report.
4. Cartons were packed to the client's own barcode and ratio specification.
5. Documentation shipped with the goods instead of after them.

Result

• 2,000 pieces delivered inside the 10-week window.
• Unit cost held within 1.5% of the original quotation.
• Inspection-related rejection stayed under 2.0%.
• The specification is on file, so reorders reproduce the approved sample.

What we would repeat

Keep one accountable owner on both sides. Most delays come from hand-offs, not from machines.

Planning something similar?

Ask for the current catalogue and the specification sheet for this line.