What MOQ should a buyer expect?

Answer: 300 pieces per colour, 1000 per order; below 300, price the purge into the unit cost.

Who pays for tooling on a Rolling Tool Case?

Answer: Whoever pays owns it. Otherwise it is amortised per shot, and the replacement after 300,000 shots must be assigned in writing.

Should tooling amortisation be a separate line?

Answer: Yes; only a separate line makes unit prices comparable, and its volume must match the order.

Is a 35 day lead time realistic?

Answer: 7 plus 15 plus 3 plus 2 is 27, so 8 days of buffer holds; under 5 invites delay.

Are longer payment terms cheaper?

Answer: No. Each extra 30 days adds 2 to 3 percent, so the working capital ends up inside the unit price.

Is the sampling fee refundable?

Answer: Usually credited against the bulk order, 800 to 1500 CNY. Put it in the quotation, since verbal credit is not credit.

Four Numbers in a Rolling Tool Case Quote

Quick answer: Four numbers screen half the suppliers before price is even discussed: minimum order quantity, who pays for tooling, how lead time splits, and payment terms. Put all four on paper and the unit price becomes comparable.

What sits inside a Rolling Tool Case quotation
MOQ and tooling ownership
Splitting lead time into four stages
Sampling, audits and payment terms in order
Five signals of a padded quote
FAQ

1. What sits inside a Rolling Tool Case quotation

A Rolling Tool Case quotation opens into six lines: shell moulding, hardware, interior foam, packaging, tooling amortisation, inspection. The first five are per unit, inspection per batch; merged, comparison loses its base.

The shell dominates: a 4.6 kg body at 2.5 mm wall costs about 41 CNY in resin at 9 CNY per kilogram, roughly 40 percent of unit price, plus a 45 second cycle on a two-cavity tool.

Line	Basis	Share	Usual gap
Shell moulding	Unit weight times resin price plus machine hour	40 to 45%	Regrind ratio not stated
Hardware set	Handle, four casters, latches, grip	20 to 25%	Caster size and material missing
Interior	EVA or egg-crate foam, per set	8 to 12%	Density and thickness unstated
Packaging	Carton plus divider	5 to 8%	Pallet not included
Tooling amortisation	Tooling cost over agreed volume	5 to 10%	Amortisation volume mismatched
Inspection	Per batch, third party included	2 to 4%	Sampling ratio missing

The most blurred line is tooling amortisation, hidden in the unit price or standing alone.

2. MOQ and tooling ownership

MOQ runs on two axes: per colour and per order. The floor is 300 pieces per colour and 1000 per order; below 300 a colour change needs purging, and 8 kg of purge lands on the unit price. Tooling is the second axis. A Rolling Tool Case mould quotes near 28,000 CNY, and ownership matters more than the money. If the buyer pays, the tool belongs to the buyer and the supplier only stores it; if not, it is amortised per shot, and who funds a replacement after 300,000 shots belongs in the contract. Three trial shots sit inside the tooling price; the fourth onward bills 800 to 1200 CNY.

Rolling Tool Case: two black socket cases open on a steel bench, red latches on the raised lid, red inserts holding sockets and bars

3. Splitting lead time into four stages

A lead time of 35 days carries no information. Split it: 7 days for material, 15 for moulding, 3 for assembly and packing, 2 for inspection, 27 in total and 8 days of buffer. Under 5 days, a peak-season insert will slip.

Stage	Days	Clock starts	Risk
Material	7	Deposit and colour chip approved	Pigment and hardware arrival
Moulding	15	Tool on press	Press schedule, tool upkeep
Assembly	3	Shells off the machine	Foam and carton readiness
Inspection	2	Packing finished	Third-party booking

Ocean freight sits outside that table: Ningbo to Hamburg 32 days, Los Angeles 22, and folding both into one promise of 45 days is how delay becomes nobody's fault.

4. Sampling, audits and payment terms in order

Wrong order means paying twice. Sample first, audit second, terms last: the sample fixes structure and colour, the audit confirms capacity, and terms come when the supplier knows the order size.

Rolling Tool Case: a worn blue case on the ribbed aluminium floor of a van, coiled black cable beside it, grey yard beyond the doors

Sampling takes about 7 days and costs 800 to 1500 CNY, usually credited against the order. The audit checks presses of 800 tonnes or more, an in-house tool room, and which Rolling Tool Case models are running.

Each extra 30 days adds 2 to 3 percent; ninety days is working capital folded into the price.

5. Five signals of a padded quote

Five signals, by frequency:

Unit price under material cost: 4.6 kg at 9 CNY per kilogram is 41 CNY of resin alone, so 38 CNY comes back elsewhere.
Tooling billed once, with no word on ownership or storage duty.
A lead time given as one total, with no stage dates to chase.
No VAT or freight basis, where a 13 percent gap eats the margin.
Sample and bulk from different tools: mismatched cavity numbers shift shrink and colour.

The fifth is hardest to prove later; photograph the cavity number on one kept sample.

Conclusion

Procurement of a Rolling Tool Case comes down to four numbers in combination: MOQ sets the purge cost, tooling money sets ownership, staged lead time sets whether delay can be claimed, and terms set how much capital cost hides in the unit price. Line them up and quotations become comparable, which is why every discussion should open with the four numbers of a Rolling Tool Case.

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.