When two suppliers quote a 65W GaN charger at prices that differ by twenty per cent, the difference is almost never the power stage. It is in five places, and all five are visible in a properly itemised quotation.
Tooling and print plates
Enclosure tooling is a one-off cost that belongs to the programme rather than to the unit. A colour change normally needs a new moulding batch but not new tooling; a housing shape change needs tooling. Print plates for the carton are cheaper but not free, and they are per artwork version — which is why approving artwork in one round instead of five saves real money. Amortised over a first order of 200 pcs, tooling dominates the unit cost; over 20,000 pcs it is noise.
MOQ: where the steps actually are
Component pricing has break points — reels, trays and minimum order quantities from the component makers. Below those break points the factory either buys a full reel and carries the remainder, or buys small quantities at a higher price, and both show up in your unit cost. This is why 200 pcs and 2,000 pcs of the same charger are not ten per cent apart.
Packaging labour
Packaging is the most under-estimated line. A retail carton with a moulded insert, a cable, a pouch and a multi-language manual is assembled by hand; a plain box for distribution is not. If a quotation looks cheap, ask whether the packaging is assembled or flat-packed, and what the carton board grade is.
Cable rating
A 100W charger shipped with a 3A cable is a 60W charger in the customer’s hands and a return in month two. A 5A EPR-rated cable adds a few percent to the bill of materials and removes a category of complaint. This is not a place to save.
Freight and packaging volume
Carton size decides how many units fit a pallet, and pallet count decides freight. Reducing a carton by ten millimetres in two dimensions can move a container from full to comfortable, and the saving is larger than most of the component negotiations. Ask for the master carton dimensions and the units per carton in the quotation — a supplier who can answer instantly is a supplier who has optimised it.
How to read a quotation
Ask for it broken into: unit cost at two quantities, tooling, print plates, packaging, cable and accessory set, certification per market, and the freight term. Then compare like with like. The line that is missing is usually the line that will be added later.