How an order runs, from drawing to delivered parts
The same seven steps run whether you need one prototype or a thousand units. Nothing is skipped for small orders, because the steps are what prevent the failures that cost more than the steps do.
The same seven steps run whether you need one prototype or a thousand units. Nothing is skipped for small orders, because the steps are what prevent the failures that cost more than the steps do.
1. Drawing review. Send DWG, DXF, STEP, or a dimensioned PDF. We read it and come back with a DFM note: what works, what will not, which tolerances are driving cost, and where a small design change would make the part cheaper or stronger. This takes a day for most parts.
2. Quotation. Itemised by material, machining, finishing and packing, in USD, with the Incoterm named. Valid 30 days. If you asked for FOB and CIF, you get both so you can compare.
3. Sample. First article in 3–7 business days after drawing sign-off, with the DFM note. You hold it, check the fit and the edge finish, and approve or send changes. Production does not start until you approve.
4. Production. 7–15 business days for standard work. Larger or highly complex jobs are scheduled against the drawing. Photos or video at first-off and again before packing.
5. Inspection and video sign-off. Dimensional and visual against the approved sample and the drawing. Before anything is packed we film the finished batch — key dimensions measured on camera, edge finish, hole positions and assembly fit, then the packed cartons — and send the video to you. The shipment stays on our floor until you confirm it. Third-party inspection is welcome. An inspection sheet with measured values ships with the batch.
6. Export packing. Foam interleave, corner protection, double-wall cartons, palletised and shrink-wrapped for sea freight. Neutral packing available if specified at order stage.
7. Shipping. EXW, FOB Shenzhen, CIF or DDP. Commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin issued before the container leaves.
Lead time starts when both the drawing and the deposit are confirmed — not when the enquiry arrives. If those two events are a week apart, the schedule moves a week.
| Order type | Lead time | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | 3–7 business days | 3–7 business days |
| Small batch | 7–10 business days | Included |
| Medium batch | 10–15 business days | Included |
| Large batch | 15–25 business days | Agreed separately |
| Rush | Compressed 20–50% | 15–50% surcharge |
On-time delivery has been above 98% over the last three years. The remaining 2% is mostly rush orders where a process step could not be compressed as far as hoped — we tell you the day we know, not the day it ships.
One named contact for the life of the project, with direct access to the floor. You will not be passed between a salesperson and a coordinator. When you ask why something is late, the person answering can walk over and look at it.
Replies within 12 business hours, Monday to Friday, 09:00–18:00 GMT+8. That is 8 hours ahead of London and 16 ahead of Los Angeles, so a message sent at the end of your day usually has an answer when you start the next one.
Three photo updates as standard: first-off, mid-run where the order justifies it, and pre-packing. Those are the three moments where a problem is still cheap to fix.
| Currency | USD, EUR or CNY |
| Standard | 30% T/T deposit, balance against B/L copy |
| Letter of credit | L/C at sight above US$30,000 |
| Small orders | Payment in full under US$3,000 |
| Sample cost | Charged, credited against production |
| Quotation validity | 30 days |
If a part does not match the approved sample, we remake or refund it. That is straightforward and we do not argue about it — the sample is the contract.
What we cannot do is accept responsibility for a part that was approved and then found unsuitable for its application. This is why the sample stage matters: it is the point where both sides agree what "correct" means.
Retained samples and colour swatches stay with us for the warranty period plus two years, so a repeat order eighteen months later can be matched to the original standard rather than to whatever the last batch happened to be.
Most of the steps in an order are routine. The risks sit in four places, and knowing them in advance is more useful than a promise that nothing will go wrong.
A drawing that is 90 percent complete gets quoted, cut and then revised. The revision is not the expensive part; the wasted setup is, and the delay is worse. Our answer is a DFM (design for manufacturability) note with the quote: a short list of what is ambiguous, what will be hard to hold, and what we would change. It arrives with the price, not after the order, because after the order it is a negotiation.
If sampling waits for a PO and production waits for a sample, the calendar is the sum of both. Where the design is stable, we can start sheet preparation against the approved drawing while the sample is in transit, which compresses the two into one period without committing to parts that may change.
| Risk | Early warning sign | How it is handled |
|---|---|---|
| Incomplete drawing | Tolerances only on some features | DFM note issued with the quote |
| Sequential approval | Sample requested before drawing sign-off | Sheet prep started against the approved drawing only |
| Shipping damage | Large panel, light carton | Crate with three-point support above 800 mm |
| Document gap at destination | Certificate of origin not yet requested | Document set completed before the vessel sails |
A panel that arrives scratched is a replacement and a delay; a container that arrives without a certificate of origin is a shipment held at destination for weeks. Both are prevented by decisions taken at packing and at booking, not by anything that happens on a machine. That is why the packing spec and the document list are confirmed before production starts rather than at dispatch.
The one thing we ask in return is a single point of contact who can approve a drawing and a swatch. Orders with two approvers on different time zones lose days per round, and on a tight programme those days are the whole margin.
The DFM review costs nothing and it is usually the most useful thing we send. Send a file and find out what we would change before you commit to anything.