Case Study: Axle Shaft Supply for a supermarket chain in West Africa
Source:Case /
Time:2026-09-18
Axle Shaft for A supermarket chain in West Africa
A supermarket chain came to us with a axle shaft programme for West 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
- Documentation that arrived after the container shipped
- A specification nobody had written down
- Inconsistent hardness between lots
What was specified
| Part | Axle Shaft |
|---|---|
| Client | A supermarket chain |
| Market | West Africa |
| Volume | 20,000 pieces across 6 specifications |
| Base material | Titanium Alloy |
| Sampling rounds | 3 |
| Delivery window | 4 weeks from PO to ex-factory |
| Compliance | ECE R90 |
How it was resolved
- The specification was rebuilt around Titanium Alloy and the tolerance locked before bulk.
- A pre-production sample was approved and kept as the golden reference.
- Production ran with in-line inspection and a mid-run photo report.
- Cartons were packed to the client's own barcode and ratio specification.
- Documentation shipped with the goods instead of after them.
Result
- 20,000 pieces delivered inside the 4-week window.
- Unit cost held within 4.5% 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
Lock the material standard before sampling. Once the base changes, every downstream approval has to be redone and the calendar slips.
Planning something similar?
Share a sample or a drawing and we will quote against a written specification, not against a photograph.
