Lighting, LEDs & Electrical Fixtures worked example

Warranty Return Rate at 1.73% maximum acceptable warranty return rate: a worked example in lighting, leds & electrical fixtures

Push maximum acceptable warranty return rate up to 1.73% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use this when reviewing quarterly warranty performance, monitoring a new product cohort for early field failures, reporting reliability KPIs to product management or customers, or justifying design changes based on field return data.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Fixtures returned under warranty: 12 fixtures (unchanged)
  • Total fixtures shipped in the population: 2,000 fixtures (unchanged)
  • Maximum acceptable warranty return rate: 1.73 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 1.5)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Warranty return rate = warranty returns / total shipped x 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.6 % for warranty return rate, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1.13 points for gap to target return rate.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12 count for warranty returns.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,000 count for total shipped population.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where maximum acceptable warranty return rate sits at 1.5% and the headline result is 0.6 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 0.6 %.
  • It computes the warranty return rate as returns divided by shipped units, and the percentage-point gap to your maximum acceptable rate. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Warranty return rate: 0.6 % (headline result)
  • Gap to target return rate: 1.13 points
  • Warranty returns: 12 count
  • Total shipped population: 2,000 count

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Warranty Return Rate calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.