Case Study

Industrial Equipment Manufacturer

Industrial Equipment Manufacturer Proactive Supply Chain Risk

Uncategorised / David Young

Industrial Equipment Manufacturer Proactive Supply Chain Risk Management

A global industrial equipment manufacturer sought to strengthen its supply network against geopolitical risks, quality failures, and shipment delays heightened by complex global sourcing.

Challenge

The client’s existing risk management was largely reactive, lacking predictive capabilities or real-time visibility into supplier vulnerabilities.

ET2C Solution

ET2C deployed a proactive risk management framework integrating global risk data, supplier audits, and scenario planning tools, enabling predictive analytics and early-warning alerts.

Outcomes Delivered

Enabled supplier risk segmentation for targeted mitigation actions.
Facilitated strategic supplier diversification reducing dependency on high-risk regions.
Improved margin stability by lowering disruption-related costs.
Enhanced executive decision-making with consolidated, real-time risk intelligence.

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Automotive Parts Supplier

Automotive Parts Supplier Risk Identification and Margin Protection

Uncategorised / David Young

Automotive Parts Supplier Risk Identification and Margin Protection Client Context:

An automotive parts supplier with complex tiered sourcing experienced repeated unexpected supply shortages and margin pressure from emergency expedited logistics.

Challenge

Lack of a centralized risk view and poor communication with sub-tier suppliers caused late identification of disruptions and costly crisis management.

ET2C Solution

ET2C implemented supply chain mapping to identify critical risk nodes, introduced supplier risk dashboards, and facilitated weekly cross-tier communication sessions to highlight and address emerging issues.

Outcomes Delivered

Mapped and classified risk exposure across the supply chain tiers, prioritizing key interventions.
Reduced expedited freight costs by 40% via early disruption detection and collaborative problem-solving.
Improved cross-tier visibility and communication enhancing responsiveness and trust.
Supported sustained margin improvement through more predictable supply flows.

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Machinery Manufacturer Supply Network Resilience Enhancement

Machinery Manufacturer Supply Network Resilience Enhancement

Uncategorised / David Young

Machinery Manufacturer Supply Network Resilience Enhancement

A European machinery manufacturer sourcing from a geographically dispersed network faced risks due to supplier capacity constraints and weak visibility into production and shipment statuses.

Challenge

Suppliers’ limited communication on capacity issues led to frequent production bottlenecks, emergency sourcing expenses, and margin erosion. These issues were particularly evident in suppliers based in Turkey and India

ET2C Solution

ET2C teams based in all sourcing markets introduced a coordinated and integrated supplier capacity and risk monitoring system, combined with scheduled risk review workshops engaging suppliers to align visibility and contingency plans.

Outcomes Delivered

Achieved real-time visibility into supplier capacity, enabling proactive order allocation and backup sourcing.
Reduced production downtime by 20%, preserving revenue and margins.
Strengthened supplier relationships through better collaboration and shared risk management.
Created a resilient supply network able to adapt quickly to disruptions.

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Industrial Components

Industrial Components Manufacturer Supply Risk Identification

Uncategorised / David Young

Industrial Components Manufacturer Supply Risk Identification

An industrial components manufacturer with multiple tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers across Asia faced escalating risks from quality failures, missed delivery deadlines, and a lack of end-to-end visibility.

Challenge

The client had limited forward-looking insight into supplier health, which led to surprise quality rejection rates and shipment delays affecting downstream assembly and client commitments.

ET2C Solution

ET2C conducted a comprehensive risk audit across the supply base, developing risk heat maps and establishing key supplier KPIs tied to quality, delivery, and communication metrics. Monthly performance reports and escalation protocols were introduced. Building supplier relationships with on the ground teams connecting suppliers and manufacturer.

Outcomes Delivered

Identified at-risk suppliers contributing to >10% quality failure rates, triggering supplier development and replacement efforts.
Improved upstream communication reducing delivery delays by 25%.
Enabled more stable production planning, reducing buffer inventory costs and supporting margin uplift.
Built a collaborative risk governance framework boosting supplier responsiveness and continuous improvement.

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Consumer Goods Retailer

Consumer Goods Retailer Margin and Communication Improvement

Uncategorised / David Young

Consumer Goods Retailer Margin and Communication Improvement

A leading European consumer goods retailer struggled with increasing supply chain disruptions and margin pressure due to weak supplier communication and insufficient issue transparency.

The Challenges

Suppliers often failed to communicate delays, capacity constraints, or quality issues proactively. This created opaque risk exposures, resulting in reactive problem-solving and cost overruns.

ET2C Solution

ET2C implemented a centralized communication platform coupled with formalized supplier risk reviews and standardized performance reporting protocols. Implementation by teams on the ground fostered improved transparency and collaboration across the supply base.

Outcome

Elevated issue visibility by integrating real-time supplier updates into a shared tracking system accessible across client teams.
Improved supplier accountability and responsiveness through structured risk review meetings facilitated by ET2C.
Reduced emergency procurement costs, minimizing stockouts and protecting margins.
Strengthened supply network resilience via clearer risk governance and joint mitigation planning.

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Electronics Component Supply Chain

Electronics Component Supply Chain Visibility & Risk Mitigation

Uncategorised / David Young

Electronics Component Supply Chain Visibility & Risk Mitigation

A mid-sized European electronics manufacturer relied on multiple offshore suppliers for critical components but faced growing risks of shipment delays and opaqueness in supply visibility, threatening product launch schedules and profit margins.

Challenge

Supplier performance data was fragmented, with critical risk exposures such as single-source dependencies and late-stage alerts going unnoticed until disruptions impacted production.

Solution

ET2C developed a tailored supply chain risk monitoring program integrating supplier data flows, real-time risk scoring, and weekly performance dashboards. This enhanced procurement and operations’ visibility into supplier reliability and potential bottlenecks.

Outcomes Delivered

Early identification of single-source risk points allowed the client to diversify suppliers and build contingency plans.
Reduced late-stage order fulfillment delays by 30% through proactive communication and monitoring.
Improved margin protection by avoiding last-minute expedited freight and production halts.
Enabled data-driven supplier scorecards facilitating continuous improvement and risk mitigation strategies.

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Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Uncategorised / David Young

Sustainable Packaging

Sustainable packaging is an increasingly important trend within many markets, and ET2C has an established network of factories already working with sustainable materials.

Integrity and Accountability

ET2C is a comprehensive global sourcing company that is committed to providing businesses with access to low-cost country manufacturing territories (China, India and Vietnam). We offer multi-industry sourcing services to startups, medium to large retailers and wholesalers that are seeking quality-assured products and sourcing strategies from Asia.

About The Client

The US company is a leading supplier of both custom and standard packaging, including glass and plastic containers. The company is always looking for innovative packaging solutions for its clients. Operating across a range industry segments (beauty, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, and household), the company can provide, source or create the container and closure that best satisfies the products’ requirements. plastic jars

Services Used

The Challenges

In line with global trends, the client received an increase in the number of enquiries for sustainable packaging alternatives. They wanted to understand what options of sustainable packaging were possible from the Asian manufacturing base but did not have the reach or network on the ground to identify the right suppliers. The aim was to provide their clients with options for alternative packaging for their products.

The Solution

The client reached out to ET2C to leverage our on-the-ground sourcing expertise in Asia. Having already established a network of factories that are using sustainable materials, we were well placed to offer them some ideas for their clients. We focused on the beauty/personal healthcare segment and presented jars, bottles, and caps that were made of bamboo.

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Virtual Factory Tours

Virtual Factory Tours

Industry Insights / David Young

Virtual Factory Tours

ET2C’s Virtual Factory Tours gives you visibility across your Supply Base at a time when international borders are closed due to the Pandemic

Executive Summary

ET2C’s Virtual Factory Tours gives you visibility across your Supply Base . As a US Packaging company, the Client needed to have visibility of a recently onboarded supplier and was looking for options in the face of travel restrictions. Working with ET2C gave them the ability to virtually visit the manufacturer, gaining visibility of the management and the production process, which allowed them to promote the supplier both internally and externally.

About The Client

The US company is a leading supplier of both custom and stock packaging of containers, closures and decorating. It serves a wide range of customers across the US and internationally as well in all the major consumer and industrial market segments. They source some components and packaging options from Asia as part of their packaging capability for their customers. ET2C Virtual Factory Tours frame challanges

The Challenges

The Pandemic has reduced access to some of their key manufacturing markets. As part of their sourcing strategy, they would schedule visits out to Asian trade shows and to factory sites to meet with their suppliers, assess samples and look at any innovation coming into the market. With borders essentially shut, this was no longer possible and they felt that they were losing competitive advantage due to factory relationships becoming increasingly distant.

Services Used

The Solution

The Client was looking for options to get closer to the factories and decided to use ET2C’s unique Virtual Factory Tours solution for a recently onboarded supplier. This allowed the client to set out some key questions to discuss with the factory management, as well as a broad run through of the factories production line (given the time difference it was not practical to have a live video stream). The pre-determined structure allowed ET2C to deliver visibility across the Supplier and the facility.

Results

The video provided the Client with the visibility they needed. This covered key questions from management, which gave insight into the factory’s plans for the future, their production process and capability with the machinery on site. The Client commented the virtual factory visit was very impressive, particularly the machines and how the products are being made. It also demonstrated how ET2C’s Quality Team inspect our products because our clients are always asking us how our suppliers manage the quality of the goods.

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The Benefits of ET2C's Buying Office Solution

The Benefits of ET2C’s Buying Office Solution

Industry Insights / David Young

The Benefits of ET2C's Buying Office Solution

A large UK retailer was looking to reduce overhead cost creep and improve margin delivery from asian sourcing operations

Executive Summary

Leverage the benefits of Asian Sourcing. A large listed UK retailer with scale and a sourcing resource was looking to drive down product costs from China. Even with its own Hong Kong base, they partnered with ET2C to quickly establish their own dedicated team, which delivered net product cost savings of 20% in year one compared with their incumbent sourcing partner.

About The Client

A large UK listed retailer, with top line revenue of over £1,000 million and over 10,000 employees, which serves the high street and the travel sectors.

The Challenges

Even with an Asian Sourcing operation in Hong Kong, the company was reliant on a large trading house for its China sourcing. The result was a lack of visibility with the factories across product as well as pricing.

This was at a time when the company were looking to improve margin and drive bottom line growth. However, setting up an operation in China can be costly and prohibitive for the size of team that was needed to access the broader manufacturing sector. They needed a cost-effective solution that provided an upstream capability and delivered the cost savings required.

Services Used

The Solution

We were able to quickly identify their needs and help them set up a dedicated team in China. Our solution provided speed to market and gave them access to the resource and expertise they needed not only to identify new and more favourable suppliers but also drive down product costs without compromising quality. In fact, they also developed a quality resource that they could use regionally across China that was completely aligned to their needs.

As opportunities presented themselves in other markets (Vietnam & Turkey), the Sourcing Director leveraged ET2C’s wider footprint and used headcount in their markets to identify sourcing opportunities.

Results

ET2C helped our client access a market and drive significant benefits. The client is still with us almost ten years later!

The key benefits are

Generated net savings of 20% of product cost in Year 1
Able to push forward their China Sourcing strategy with a dedicated ‘on the ground’ team
Flexible solution allowed access to other Asian sourcing markets, like Vietnam
Able to push forward their China Sourcing strategy with a dedicated ‘on the ground’ team
It is no wonder that the Sourcing Director still to this day says that ET2C is the lowest cost option for any China Sourcing strategy.

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Third Party Quality Control

Third Party Quality Control

Industry Insights / David Young

Third Party Quality Control

Implementing an upstream quality control program to provide reassurance on product quality before shipping the products

Executive Summary

Upstream Third-Party Quality Assurance Services to Manage a Complex Regulatory Environment! A European Government Department identified the need for an at the source quality assurance capability to confirm the quality of PPE products being purchased from Chinese Suppliers. There was significant risk around funds paid pre-shipment, local and domestic regulatory environment as well as general product quality. ET2C were very quickly able to provide visibility of product quality pre-shipment making sure that there were no costly mistakes.

About The Client

A European Government Department with responsibility to procure PPE at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic for the healthcare sector.

The Challenges

Global demand had far outstripped supply leading to considerable risk; there was a lack of transparency across the supplier base (no travel possible), funds required upfront and questions around product quality. Having visibility of what was being purchased at the source was essential to ensure that the stock was to the correct quality standards required at a sector and product level.

Services Used

The Solution

ET2C quickly mobilised an upstream quality assurance capability in China. This allowed Quality control inspectors to visit the various factory sites to conduct a detailed quality inspection of the PPE products, deliver a clear report and provide the information required to decide to pay the balance and ship the stock.

As well as conducting final inspection checks, we were also able to check raw material deliveries to assess the suppliers’ ability to produce the quantities within the lead time and to the quality standards.

In addition, ET2C’s quality team also validated the necessary product and supplier certifications as part of the Third-Party Quality Assurance Services to provide an additional layer of confidence on both export of the products out of China and import into the European Union.

Results

The client was able to pay in advance of shipment with the knowledge that the products were on specification and the certifications were valid. Ultimately, this protected taxpayer’s money and made sure that there were no costly quality issues.

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