Case Study: From an App Complaint to a Non-Standard Mortise Project
Active unlock was the real problem, not the price. Fixing it opened a larger project.
Read the article →Case Study: Holding a Padlock Programme When a Rival Undercut Our Cost
A door and gate contractor in Southeast Asia asked for a quotation on a fingerprint padlock programme with monthly volumes, plus the gateway needed to manage access from an office rather than from the gate.
The problem
A competing quotation came in below our own material cost. Matching it would have meant shipping at a loss on every carton, and the buyer had already learned that the lowest unit price is not the lowest programme cost.
What we did
- We declined to match the price and quoted the cost plus a defined margin instead.
- We bundled a one-year warranty into the unit price so the number quoted was the number the buyer would live with.
- We quoted the padlock and the matching gateway as one package, so the buyer did not have to solve the app and gateway question separately.
- We issued the origin document, invoice, packing list and bill of lading in house so clearance was not left to a third party.
The result
The first order was a small trial. It was followed by repeat orders that grew to a monthly programme, because the buyer's own customers stopped reporting the problems that cheaper hardware had caused.
What this means for your order
A lower unit price is not a lower programme cost if it comes with a padlock that will not join the gateway, a warranty that is not honoured, or a document set that delays clearance. If you are comparing quotes, compare those three items line by line.
Get a quoted programme, not a unit price
Send the volume, the application and the gateway requirement and we will quote the package with the documents and warranty stated.
Related Reading
Case Study: A Very Small First Order That Became a Bulk Contract
The first order was small enough that a mistake would not hurt. It was handled as if it were the bulk order.
Read the article →Tuya vs TTLock: Which Smart Lock Ecosystem Should You Sell?
Both ecosystems work. They suit different buyers, and choosing wrongly costs a lot of after-sales time.
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