Production Process — From Sample to Shipment
The full manufacturing timeline: sample confirmation, mold/tooling, trial production, mass production, quality control and shipment.
This page walks through the manufacturing timeline as a sequence, starting once a design is finalized and a sample is confirmed. For the design and engineering work that happens before this — industrial design, DFM review, component selection — see Product Development. For the underlying capacity and equipment that supports this timeline, see Bulk Production; for the QC checkpoints embedded in this flow, see Quality Control.
How It Works
Sample Confirmation
Buyer approves final sample as the production reference standard.
Mold / Tooling Development
New molds or PCB tooling finalized (existing-design orders skip this step).
Material Procurement
Components and materials ordered against the confirmed BOM.
Trial Production Run
A small pilot batch run to validate the production line setup.
Mass Production
Full production run across scheduled SMT and assembly lines.
Quality Control & Packing
IQC/IPQC/FQC checkpoints, then packing — see Bulk Production for capacity detail.
Shipment
Pre-shipment inspection, then FOB/CIF shipment to destination.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Existing-Design Lead Time
25–35 working days sample-confirmation to shipment
New Tooling Lead Time
40–55 working days including mold development
Trial Run Size
Typically 2–5% of total order volume
Status Updates
Weekly production updates provided to buyer
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes the biggest delays in the production timeline?
New mold/tooling development is the most common source of timeline variance — existing-design (ODM/private label) orders skip this step entirely and run substantially faster.
Do you provide production progress updates?
Yes, buyers receive weekly status updates during active production, with photo/video documentation available on request.
Is this the same as Product Development?
No — Product Development covers the design and engineering work (industrial design, DFM review, component selection) that finalizes what will be built. Production Process starts from that finalized design and covers how it gets built and shipped.
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