Case studies
How a sourcing mandate plays out
Each scenario below sets out a real failure mode, the approach taken, and what the buyer ended up with. They demonstrate method rather than claim a track record.
- Scenarios
- 4 published
- Sectors covered
- Biomass, horticulture, filtration, food
- Basis
- Illustrative, not completed work
- Client names
- Never disclosed
Please read. Illustrative scenario. This describes how a mandate of this type is run and what it produces. It is not a record of a completed engagement, and no client is identified. Replace with real engagements — with written client permission — before publishing.
- Energy & biomassIllustrative
Holding a moisture specification across a rainy season
A repeat schedule agreed in the dry season ran into the wet season. Rather than shipping and hoping, the tolerance and price mechanism were renegotiated before the drift appeared.
Read the scenario- Buyer
- A European industrial boiler operator
- Region
- Northern Europe
- Product
- Palm Kernel Shell
- Sector
- Energy & biomass
- HorticultureIllustrative
Preventing a washed-for-buffered substitution
The buyer had specified buffered material but was being offered washed at a buffered price. The distinction is invisible on inspection and decisive in the crop.
Read the scenario- Buyer
- A commercial glasshouse grower
- Region
- Middle East
- Product
- Cocopeat
- Sector
- Horticulture
- Water & air filtrationIllustrative
Screening for repeatability, not for one good sample
Sample results were excellent and production lots were not. The problem was the aggregation model, which no sample could have revealed.
Read the scenario- Buyer
- An activated carbon producer
- Region
- South Asia
- Product
- Coconut Shell Charcoal
- Sector
- Water & air filtration
- Food & beverageIllustrative
Building a document timeline backwards from the sailing date
Payment was by documentary credit, and the previous shipment had been held for discrepancies. The fix was sequencing, not paperwork volume.
Read the scenario- Buyer
- An ingredient importer
- Region
- East Asia
- Product
- Agricultural Commodities
- Sector
- Food & beverage