Why do drone case quotes differ so much between suppliers?

Answer: Mostly tooling and resin grade. P20 and 718 moulds differ by 20,000–30,000 yuan, and a high-regrind quote looks cheap until the drop test.

Can the 300-unit minimum go lower?

Answer: Yes, with a purge fee. Runs below 300 carry an 800–1,200 yuan cleaning charge, which rarely pays off.

Is 70 working days for a first order reasonable?

Answer: Yes: 30 days of tooling, 12 for trial and rework, 20 for production, plus booking. A 35-day promise usually means an existing mould.

Should tooling be paid up front or amortised?

Answer: Above 5,000 units over three years, amortising preserves cash; below 1,000, paying once is cleaner.

How is a quoted rework rate verified?

Answer: Run 20 sample cases, log drop and seal failures, then negotiate liability against those numbers.

Drone Case Procurement: Quotes, MOQ and Lead Time

Quick answer: Buying a drone case comes down to three negotiations: a quote split into cost blocks, a minimum order that follows tooling and colour changes, and a lead time counted from the deposit clearing.

What the Six Cost Blocks in a Drone Case Quote Are
Why the Minimum Order Sits on Tooling and Colour Changes
How the Lead Time Runs from Order to Loading
Samples, Tooling Fees and Payment Terms
Comparing Quotes on Total Cost of Ownership
FAQ

1. What the Six Cost Blocks in a Drone Case Quote Are

A drone case quote splits into six blocks: resin, moulding hours, hardware and assembly, foam, packing and freight, overhead and margin.

Resin is costed at 4.2 kg per case: 3.6 kg of PP compound, 0.15 kg of masterbatch, 0.45 kg of hardware. Moulding runs a 78-second cycle on a 1,250 t machine, 46 cases an hour.

Cost block	Share at 3,000 units	What moves it
Resin	38%	compound price
Moulding hours	26%	machine rate, run length
Hardware and assembly	14%	labour
Foam cutting	9%	cavity complexity
Packing and freight	8%	volumetric weight
Overhead and margin	5%	supplier policy

Quotes usually hold 30 days, because PP compound often moves more than 5% in a month. Write an index clause that adjusts the resin block only.

2. Why the Minimum Order Sits on Tooling and Colour Changes

The 300-unit minimum comes from purge and setup time. A colour change needs four hours of purging and about 25 kg of purge compound, plus first-article approval, which adds over ten yuan per case on short runs.

Drone Case: close view of a black case corner with textured shell, triangular ribs, hinge pin and a closed two-stage latch

Tooling explains the rest. A single-cavity P20 mould costs 68,000 yuan and runs about 300,000 shots: at 300 units it adds 226 yuan per case, at 3,000 units 22.7. The minimum order is the denominator of that division.

Mixed colours push the floor to 500 units, since three colours mean three purges; separate batches on one schedule bring it back to 300.

3. How the Lead Time Runs from Order to Loading

Lead time starts the day the deposit clears, not the day the contract is signed. A first order takes about 70 working days, of which tooling and trials take 42; a repeat order ships in 20.

Milestone	Working days	Note
Contract and deposit	3	scheduling starts on payment
Mould build	30	single cavity, P20 steel
T1 trial	3	five sample cases
Rework and sign-off	9	includes sample shipping
Production	20	3 days outgoing check inside
Booking and loading	5	1,200 cases per 40HQ

The rework block is the one buyers forget: a T1 sample usually shows foam nests 1–2 mm off the airframe, and one trim plus re-confirmation costs nine days. Plan from sign-off, not from T1.

Peak season needs capacity locked 45 days ahead, since 1,250 t slots are booked by the week.

4. Samples, Tooling Fees and Payment Terms

Sample cases are the cheapest insurance in procurement. Five samples take seven working days at 900 yuan each, credited against production; that 4,500 yuan buys a real fit test rather than a mould change later.

Drone Case: black case open with foam holding a folded drone, screen controller, battery and gimbal, corner bumpers visible

Tooling can be paid three ways: in full for the lowest unit price, amortised at 22 yuan over the first 3,000 units, or bought outright with ownership written into the contract.

Payment is commonly 30% deposit with 70% against a bill of lading copy. Invoice tooling separately from the first shipment, and hold 10% retention for 60 days.

5. Comparing Quotes on Total Cost of Ownership

Add tooling, freight and rework, and a quote 16 yuan cheaper often ends up dearer.

Item	Supplier A	Supplier B
Unit price	398 yuan	382 yuan
Tooling at 3,000 units	22.7 yuan	28.3 yuan
Freight	18 yuan	24 yuan
Rework at 2% and 5%	8.0 yuan	19.1 yuan
Landed cost per case	446.7 yuan	453.4 yuan

Rework cost is unit price times the rework rate, taken from a trial batch, not a promise. Freight runs on volumetric weight, so 10 mm of extra carton height costs dozens of units per 40HQ.

Lead time is a cost too: ten days late can stall a programme at more than the price gap.

Conclusion

Procuring a drone case means negotiating three relationships rather than one number: quote against cost block, minimum order against tooling amortisation, lead time against the production calendar. Written into a contract, a drone case is bought on terms, not on a discount.

This article discusses only the container (case body) side of specifications and design intent, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.