Reducing Defect Rates by 40% for a European Retailer
Mid-Sized Retailer · 6 months
Founder & CEO, Tetra Inspection
The Challenge
A mid-sized European fashion retailer sourcing from five factories in Guangdong, China was experiencing a 12% defect rate on garment shipments — nearly triple the industry average. Returns and markdowns were costing them over €200,000 per season. Recurring issues included inconsistent fabric tension during cutting, inadequate thread tension calibration on overlock machines, and color matching failures between fabric lots.
The Solution
Tetra Inspection implemented systematic during-production and pre-shipment inspections across all five suppliers. Our inspectors identified the recurring root causes and worked with the retailer to communicate detailed corrective action plans to each factory, establishing clear quality benchmarks and re-inspection triggers. Custom checklists were developed for each product category with specific AQL criteria for fabric quality, stitching, and color consistency.
The Results
40%
Defect Rate Reduction
Shipment defect rate dropped from 12% to 7.2% within six months — a 40% reduction across all five suppliers.
€85,000
Seasonal Savings
Returns decreased proportionally, saving an estimated €85,000 per season in markdown and return processing costs.
Improved
Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction scores improved significantly as fewer defective products reached end consumers.
“Tetra helped us see exactly where our supply chain was breaking down. Within two seasons, we cut our defect rate nearly in half and saved more than the cost of every inspection combined.”
— Mid-Sized Retailer
Services Used
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