Commercial terms · 8 min read
Lead time, stage by stage
Production is usually a minority of the elapsed time in a first order. The rest is decisions, and most of them are yours.
Always ask which start point
A lead time quoted without a start point is not a lead time. The same number can mean elapsed days from deposit, from artwork sign-off, or from sample approval — three dates that can sit weeks apart. Establish the start point before you compare anything, and write it into the contract rather than the email.
The phases, and what each really costs
| Phase | Elapsed estimate | Who controls the clock |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation | Within 24 hours | Shared — an incomplete brief slows this more than anything |
| Sample dispatch | 3–5 business days | Factory |
| Sample evaluation and approval | Days to several weeks | Buyer — the longest variable in most first orders |
| Production | 25–35 days after approval | Factory |
| OEM on existing tooling | 15–25 days after approval | Factory, once artwork is final |
| New tooling to first article | 45–60 days | Shared — every design revision restarts part of it |
| Inspection and release | 1–3 days | Buyer or third-party inspector |
| Freight | Varies by mode and destination | Freight forwarder |
The scheduling point here is old and still routinely missed: compressing a task that is not on the critical path shortens nothing. [Kerzner, 2017] sets out the critical-path method in exactly these terms, and it is why a rush order only works when the binding step is the one being accelerated.
Rush orders, honestly
Acceleration is possible, and it works by moving your order ahead of somebody else's rather than by making machines faster. That means it has a cost, and it usually draws down goodwill. Our published rush band is 15–20 days on an existing tool with artwork final — shorter than the standard 25–35 because no artwork cycle remains, not because production got quicker.
Two honest warnings. Peak seasons around major holidays compress capacity regardless of what anybody promises, so plan backwards from Chinese New Year rather than forwards from your launch date. And a rush order is the wrong time to be changing anything.
Planning backwards from a launch date
- Fix the shelf date first, then subtract freight, then inspection, then production, then approval.
- Handle sample approval as a phase with an owner inside your business, not as an event that happens.
- Add contingency for the phase you have never done before. For most first-time importers that is customs documentation — see clearing customs cleanly.
- Confirm the quote validity window. Prices reflecting material costs move, and a quote allowed to lapse is a quote you have to re-open.
For a first volume that satisfies the minimum without over-committing, the MOQ and lead-time table sets four volumes side by side, and the wholesale terms carry the full published figures.
On-time in-full (OTIF) delivery
A lead time tells you when the first order arrives. OTIF — on-time in-full — tells you what happens on the tenth. It is the share of purchase orders that arrive both by the date promised and with the quantity promised, and it is the single number a replenishment planner actually manages, because a line that is late or short breaks a shelf or a listing regardless of how good the unit is.
- On-time
- The order arrived within the tolerance band written into the purchase order, not within a vaguer promise. Define the band — a day, three days — before you measure, or "on time" means whatever the supplier wants it to mean.
- In-full
- The quantity shipped matched the quantity ordered, with no silent substitution of a different model or colour. A partial fill that you were not told about is a miss even if it arrives early.
- OTIF
- On-time multiplied by in-full, not averaged with it. A line that is 96% on-time and 98% in-full yields a 94% OTIF — the rate at which you receive exactly what you ordered, when you ordered it.
For the published reorder minimum and lead time on the Slow Duo range, see the wholesale terms. For the inspection that catches a short or wrong fill before it leaves the factory, see the four-stage quality control.
References
- Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & Supply Chain Management, 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education.
- Silver, E. A., Pyke, D. F. & Peterson, R. (1998). Inventory Management and Production Planning and Scheduling, 3rd ed. New York: Wiley.
- Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, 12th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Questions on this guide
What start date should I put in the contract?
Sample approval, stated explicitly rather than implied, together with what triggers it. "Production within 30 days" without a trigger is unenforceable because the clock never formally starts.
How much buffer should I add?
For a first import, add two to three weeks beyond the arithmetic. Almost all of it gets consumed by documentation and freight rather than by manufacturing.
Can a rush order include custom packaging?
Rarely. Carton printing has its own supplier queues and cannot usually be compressed alongside production. Splitting packaging out is a common cause of a "rush" that is not one.
When does the production clock start?
After sample approval and after the deposit clears — not on the day you send the brief. Everything before that is procurement and approval, and it is usually where a slipped date was actually lost.
What is the most common cause of a slipped date?
Packaging. The product is finished on schedule and waits on a carton print run that was booked late. It is also the easiest to avoid: decide the carton at the same time as the product, or use stock packaging on run one.
Can I compress the timeline by paying more?
Partly. Money moves procurement and freight; it does not shorten a curing step, a burn-in test, or an inspection that has to happen. Ask which segments can be compressed — a supplier who says "all of them" has not read your brief.
Does Chinese New Year affect a quoted lead time?
Yes, for any order that overlaps it. Production stops for the holiday and the weeks either side run below capacity as staff travel. We publish cut-off dates for the following season each autumn: an order confirmed after the cut-off is scheduled into the post-holiday window rather than quoted optimistically.
What is the difference between production time and transit time?
Production is what the factory controls — from confirmation and artwork approval to goods packed and ready. Transit is what the forwarder controls, and it is quoted separately: days by air, weeks by sea. The 25–35 day lead time describes production only; add transit and clearance to reach your warehouse.
What does OTIF mean, and why should it be in my purchase order?
OTIF — on-time in-full — is the share of orders that arrive both by the date promised and with the quantity promised. Put the tolerance band and a short-fill reporting rule into the purchase order, not the relationship, because a line that is late or short breaks a shelf regardless of unit quality. OTIF is the product of the two rates, so it is always the lowest of them.
How does OTIF relate to my reorder minimum?
A low OTIF rate is the reason safety stock and a realistic reorder minimum exist. The reorder minimum published on the wholesale page is the floor for repeat orders; OTIF tells you how much buffer to hold above it so a short fill does not become a stockout.
Still open: what can compress a lead time and what cannot — or work four volumes through the timeline.