Case Study: Handbrake Cable Supply for a logistics company in Southern Africa

Handbrake Cable for A logistics company in Southern Africa

A logistics company came to us with a handbrake cable programme for Southern 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

• A supplier who changed material without saying so
• Inconsistent hardness between lots
• 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 Nylon 66 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

• 50,000 pieces delivered inside the 6-week window.
• Unit cost held within 2.0% of the original quotation.
• Inspection-related rejection stayed under 1.0%.
• The specification is on file, so reorders reproduce the approved sample.

What we would repeat

Fix the specification count early. Adding variants after production starts is the most expensive change a client can request.

Planning something similar?

Send the specification you are working to and we will confirm what we can match, what we would change and why.