A factory in Bangladesh is scheduled to ship 30,000 jackets to a European retailer in ten days. Two days before cutting, the branded zipper shipment is held at customs and will arrive five days late.
The manager calls a replanning meeting with cutting, sewing, finishing and logistics. They confirm that sewing is the new critical path because the fabric is already spread and cut. They decide to cut all panels immediately, start sewing the non-zipper sections, and hold a small night shift ready for zipper arrival.
They also compare costs: a full airfreight of 30,000 jackets would erase the order margin, but airfreighting only the first 8,000 units to protect the retail launch costs far less than the contract penalty and protects the relationship. The buyer agrees to a split shipment. The factory ships on the original date for part of the quantity and uses sea freight for the rest.